How Stella Got Her Grove Back
by mmjayy1987
Summary: Tony Toretto has his hands full with three kids of his own, trying to maintain a garage and a diner, as well as keeping his racing under wraps from his kids. He knows taking in Vince is a risk of its own but what happens when a girl moves down the street and the young Toretto's start a racing team of their own?
1. Stella

She could hear the yelling all the way upstairs in her bedroom as she turned the volume up on her Walkman. Her legs hung in the air as she flipped through the teen magazine. She could feel the cool air blowing on her legs every few seconds the fan would move back into her view. It was the summer and what was she doing? She was stuck in the house because her chores weren't completed last night. She sighed as she rolled on to her back bringing the magazine back into her view. A loud bang on the door caught her attention but she chose to ignore it. She lived in a house full of people…mostly boys. It was all she could do not to run away and forget they even existed. Her mom died when she was just a little baby after giving birth to her little sister. Her dad was a mechanic at the garaged they owned. Being thirteen years old, it was hard to get away with anything. She had one brother with the exception of her brother's best friend who basically lived there as well. Pushing the hair from her face, she finally looked up at the door as it swung open. "I've been banging on the door for like five minutes now!" Her older brother, Dom, shouted. Mia rolled her eyes as she rolled back onto her stomach. It was his fault she was in trouble. He decided to stop by the shop on the way home from school. She wasn't allowed to walk home alone only if Dom or Vince was with her. "Hello!"

"What do you want, Dom?" Mia finally shouted. There was never a silent moment in that house. Someone was always yelling at someone else.

"Where is Stella at?"

"How should I know? I've been in here all day."

"You two are attached at the hip." Mia shrugged her shoulders. Dom sighed slamming her door. Dom was three years older than she was as Stella was just a year younger. She was the middle child and she hated it. They say that the oldest gets away with anything as does the youngest, but she was always in trouble for something Dom always did. She threw her legs over the bed and walked to her bedroom window and looked out. Vince, Dom's best friend, was sitting the porch drinking a coke. Stella was nowhere around. Dom spoke of Stella being attached to Mia's hip but it was Vince that she loved. Where ever he was…she was surely there with him. Mia laughed as saw the bushes beside him begin to move. "AH!" Stella jumped from the bushes nailing Vince in the head with a water balloon. Vince immediately dropped the soda, glass going everywhere. Stella's eyes widened as she took off running in the opposite direction of the house. "STELLA!" Vince screamed after her. He was right on her tail as she darted through the bushes of the next house disappearing. That's what she did. She wasn't fast but she was good at hiding.

"And what are you laughing at?" Mia jumped as she turned around to her father standing at the door. "Dinner is ready."

"You might want to go pull Stella out of the bushes at the neighbors before they shoot her because they think she is a rabid animal." Mia walked past him. "Also Vince might murder her as well." She could hear Tony chuckle as she made her way down the stairs. Vince opened the front door just as she stepped down on the last step. "I would learn to duck next time." Mia replied with a smirk. She hopped off the last step towards the kitchen. "I'm going to kill her!" Vince shouted.

"Yeah, yeah." Mia tossed her hand up. She knew he was kidding. He could never hurt her. He would _never_ hurt her.

* * *

Stella sat across the table from Mia with papers in her hand staring at the back door. "You have these five problems to do then we can go outside." Tony stated tapping his finger down on the paper. She had five math problems in front of her and not one mark was on the paper.

"It's summer!" Stella groaned. "Why are we doing homework when I wasn't even given homework?" She leaned her head into her hand and sighed. "Can I please just go outside?"

"Finished!" Mia slammed her pencil down on the table. "Can I go back up to my prison cell now?"

Stella bit her bottom lip trying to keep herself from laughing. "You can lose the attitude?" Tony replied. "Stella…two problems and then you can go. I better not see that butt of yours outside until two problems are done. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Stella mumbled under her breath. She sighed picking up the pencil in her hand as she looked down at the word problems sitting on the page in front of her. She could hear Mia's feet shuffling upstairs as Tony followed her. Mia was never the one to get in trouble so when she did she made sure the whole house knew she was upset. She could hear the chuckles behind her as she looked up at the open window. "Your ass is mine when I see you again." Vince whispered.

"I so got you!" Stella shouted. "You didn't have a clue what was happening until that water balloon smacked you right in the face."

"You just remember Stella Bella, I know where you sleep at night."

"Can you come on?" Dom appeared next to him. "You better clean up those water balloons before Pops finds them. You'll be grounded like Mia."

"It's your fault she is grounded in the first place. Don't be surprised when you don't wake up tomorrow morning."

Dom shook his head. "That doesn't even make sense, Stel." Stella rolled her eyes mocking him. "HEY!" Tony slammed his hand down on the table causing her to jump and throw her pencil in the air. "What did I just tell you?"

"I'm not outside." Stella replied. "Besides, Dom…" She pointed behind her but the boys were already gone. "I'm going to get your Dominic Toretto! You just wait and see!" She shouted hoping they heard her. "Math! Now!" Tony pointed down at the sheet of blank paper.

* * *

Vince and Dom have known since they were little kids. Vince had always lived down the road. He didn't grow up with a family like the Toretto's. His mom was never home and when she was, she was with a different guy. That's why he spent most of his time at their house. Tony never had a problem with him. Vince and Dom kept each other out of trouble. They were both Juniors in high school with Mia being in 8th and Stella being in 7th grade. Tony definitely had his work cut out for him but he never complained. Stella looked up at Mia's bedroom window and saw her staring out it. It was getting boring not having her sister hanging out with her. She laid back down on the towel and looked up at the sun. She had begged her dad for a pool but of course begging was all that happened. Tony said there was beach all around them. If she wanted to go all she had to do was ask. She sighed as she heard her brother shouting. A smirk formed on her face as she ran into the house grabbing the water balloons that were on top of the refrigerator. "Now when he comes and hunts you down, don't you dare say a word to me." Tony didn't even look up from the newspaper that was in his hands. "I know!" Stella squealed as she filled the balloons up with water. She grabbed as many as she could in her hand before running out the back door. She would sneak around to the front and bombard them. She crouched down on the ground and hurried towards the fence before popping up. "Vince!" Dom shouted. "We need to call someone!" Dom was in front of her Vince blocking Stella's view as she slowly sneaked up behind them.

"AH!" She ran towards them just as Dom moved to the side. Vince's face was bloodied as a huge, blue bruise began to form around his eye. "VINCE!" Stella screamed dropping all the balloons on the ground.

"Stella, go get Pops!" Dom shouted to her. She couldn't move as she grabbed Vince's arm and tugged. He refused to look at her. "STELLA!" Dom screamed. The tears formed in her eyes as she nodded her head before taking off into the house. "DADDY! DADDY!" She screamed running into the kitchen. "Vin-ce." She sobbed. Her father pushed past her and out the front door. Stella heard the shuffling of feet coming down the stairs as Mia met her at the door. "What is it?" Mia asked.

"Vince…he's hurt." Stella covered her mouth her hands as the front door opened and Tony came walking in with Vince in his arms. "Vince, what happened?" Stella asked.

"Stel, go get me a wet wash cloth and some alcohol wipes out of the kitchen… go ahead sweetheart." Stella nodded her head. "Okay, Vince. Tell me what happened?" Stella rushed into the kitchen as she listened to Vince tell the story of his mom's new boyfriend coming in. Stella moved slowly into the living room as she handed her dad the wash cloth and alcohol wipes. "He's been there for a few weeks. I guess he thought it was his house and he ran it…" Vince looked up at Stella who had backed away against the wall. "He told me to make him something to eat and I said something smart…next thing I know I had a beer bottle to the head and his fist in my face. I tried to fight him off but he caught me off guard. I wasn't ready for him."

"Where is your mom?" Tony asked.

Vince didn't answer as he shook his head. "Okay…" Tony looked up at his two daughters were still backed against the wall as Mia had her arms wrapped around Stella's arms. "Let's give Vince some space. You two go upstairs and I will come get you for dinner." Stella didn't move as stared at Vince. He finally made eye contact with her.

"I'm okay." He whispered. "I'll come find you." Stella didn't say a word as she moved to the stairs where Mia was waiting on her. They walked up the stairs and into Mia's room.

"He's going to be alright, Stel." Mia rubbed her back as they both sat down on her bed. Stella sighed as she looked up at her big sister.

"I've seen it before, Mia." Stella replied softly. "They hit him all the time."

"Yeah…" Mia looked up at the door. They both waited there in silence wondering what was going to happen to Vince.

* * *

The day slowly turned into night as Stella made her way downstairs to see where everyone was. Her and Mia had been upstairs for over two hours. She was bored. She had to see what was going on. She moved into the kitchen and looked at the bloodied towel that laid in the sink before moving to the back door. "Stella!" Mia whispered loudly causing Stella to jump. She turned around glaring at her sister. "What are you doing?"

"You don't have to whisper, Mia. There isn't anyone here." Mia stood up straight and looked around. "They either took Vince to the hospital or Pops went to beat the crap out of that man that hurt Vince. I'm hoping the second one."

"Come on, I will start dinner and we can wait together." Mia ushered her over to the table. "Don't worry about Vince. I'm sure he is going to be just fine."

"Pops might as well just let him live with us. He already is over here eighty percent of the day anyways."

"Then you two couldn't get married if he lived here." Mia smirked.

"Shut up, Mia!" Stella glared again. "I don't want to marry, Vince!"

"I'm sure he would marry you back, Stel."

"I said shut up!" Stella yelled standing up. Yeah, she had the biggest crush on Vince, but she didn't need her sister announcing it to everyone. She stormed out of the room and out the front door. The swing was already swinging by itself as she looked out into the front yard. The wind was blowing hard. A storm was coming. She wrapped her arms around her body as she sat down in the swing letting her mind wonder. Vince had always been there for her. He was always the big, big brother. Him and Dom had met when Dom was in the third grade. They both beat up a little boy who was pulling on this girls dress and the rest was history. There were inseparable since. She remembered him coming over one day. He sat down at the table with her and helped her with her math. He was so patient. He was so kind. She looked up as a noise caught attention. "Get inside!" Tony shouted. The wind was worse as the rain came down hard onto the pavement instantly soaking it. She nodded her head as she hurried inside waiting for him to follow. "Why are you outside?"

"You said you would come and get us and you didn't. So I came down here." She looked behind him as Dom came waddling in. "Where is Vince?" Dom didn't speak as he moved to the stairs. "Is he back home?"

"Stella..." Tony sighed rubbing his hands over his face. "Vince is not my child. He is not in my custody therefore I cannot take care of him."

"Then who is?" She shouted. "You let him go back to that? He had glass in his face. He was bleeding..." She grabbed a hold of the staircase. "He could have killed him."

"I don't know what I am supposed to do!" Tony shouted back. He reached for her but she backed away. "Stella..."

"I'm going to bed." She replied walking up the stairs. She couldn't understand why Vince was back home. He basically lived there at the Toretto house. She stormed into her room slamming the door behind her. It didn't make any sense.

* * *

Family had always been the root of everything the Toretto's ever did. They looked out for their own. They made sure everyone was safe and everyone was taken care of. Stella stared up at her ceiling that night not being able to sleep knowing that Vince was probably doing the same. There was a soft knock on the door as Mia walked in and got under the covers. Stella moved over without taking her eyes off the ceiling fan that was slowly moving. "You can't be mad at him."

"Why not?" Stella asked.

"Because his hands are tied. He doesn't know what to do."

"He can kick that mans ass that's what he can do." Stella felt Mia's hand in hers. "I feel bad for him, Mi. He doesnt deserve this."

"I'm sorry I upset you earlier." Stella finally turned towards her sister. The light from the street shone into the room as Stella smiled. Mia was not only her sister but her best friend. They always had each others back.

"I think Vince likes someone else." Stella replied softly. "He's like my brother. I love having him around." Mia was silent. "Let's go to sleep, Mi. I will see you in the morning." Stella closed her eyes as she moved the blanket up to her face. She prayed sleep would take over but it didn't. She laid in that position for what seemed like hours when she heard a noise outside. She slowly lifted herself off the bed and moved towards her bedroom window. Vince was slowly walking up the steps to the house. She moved closer to look out. Tony was standing on the top of the steps with a pillow and blanket in his hand. Tears filled up her eyes as she watched Tony reach for Vince putting his arm around his shoulder and ushered her into the house. A feeling of relief came over her as she moved back to the bed. Tony Toretto was the definition of a family man. In the back of her mind she knew he could never have turned Vince away. She just wondered why he lied to her?

 **AN: NEW STORY! Let me know what you guys think! It's basically, i'm going to say about 8 or 9 years before Tony dies in the crash. Let me know if i should go into the movies or not. REVIEW**


	2. I'll Take Care of You

**AN: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! Let me know what you think!**

Thunder rumbled through the house causing Stella to shoot up from the bed. She put her hand to her chest as she looked out the window as the wind blew the rain against the wind and lightening lit up her room. The storm had finally come full force and she didn't like it at all. She slowly threw her legs over the side of the bed making sure she didn't wake up Mia. She wrapped her arms around her body as she tiptoed to the door and slowly opened it. She made sure to step where she knew the boards didn't creak as she made her way downstairs. "Hi." Vince whispered causing her to stop in her tracks. "I couldn't sleep either." Stella gave a soft smile as she slowly walked over to him and sat down next to him. "You alright?"

"I don't like storms very much." She replied softly. She looked up at him with so much sadness in her eyes. "Does it hurt?"

"No." He whispered. "Not so much right now." Stella shook her head. "Your dad needed to keep you in the dark in case someone came asking questions. I'm going to be staying here for a while, Stel. My mom isn't going to like it. Someone might come to the house and begin asking you some questions. Your dad didn't want that to happen."

"I won't let anything happen to you." Vince gave a soft smile as he brought her into his arms. "You're my best friend, Vince."

"Go to sleep, Stel. I'll be right here in the morning." She felt the blanket come up around her as she adjusted her head in his chest and slowly closed her eyes. The storm continued outside as she found herself at peace lying next to him. She could hear his breathing slow down knowing he would be out soon. She was right though, Vince was her very best friend. The thunder sounded again as she jumped but Vince's arms tightened around her letting her know it was okay. She smiled as she relaxed finally letting sleep take over.

* * *

Stella stood up at her window in her room looking down at the road as she watched Vince and Dom take off down the road. "Hey." Mia walked into her room. "You ready to go?"

"This summer is beginning to suck." Stella replied turning around. "Who does homework and work during the summer?"

"A lot of people." Mia threw her her book bag. "How about we get through this shift at the diner and then we can go to the beach?"

"Fine." Stella didn't argue. Mia was finally off of punishment and she was willing to do just about anything to get out of the house. Stella put the book bag on her back as she followed Mia down the stairs and out the house. There were tree limbs all in the yard as they ignored them walking towards the sidewalk. The diner was only a mile down the road. They always walked since the weather seemed to always be nice. Stella sighed as she looked up the road. "Did you sleep okay?" Mia finally asked. Mia knew she hated thunder storms. She always had. Stella nodded her head biting her bottom lip. "I woke up and you weren't in the bed anymore."

"I went downstairs." Was all she said. Mia nodded her head refraining from saying anything else. "I wonder who that is." Stella pointed ahead of them at the big moving truck sitting in front of a house. They stopped and stared as they saw two adults climb into the van. "Mija!" The lady yelled as a tall, dark headed Latina walked out of the house. She had a white tank top on with baggy pants. "Mija!" The lady shouted again. "What?" The girl shouted. "Ma, I'm right here. Stop shouting." Stella and Mia began to laugh causing the girl to look up at them. Mia lifted her hand and waved as Stella smiled. At least a new girl was moving in down the street. The girl nodded her head as Stella grabbed Mia's arm to move forward. They were going to be late and Tony was going to be pissed. They were silent as they crossed the street just as Tony opened up the garage doors.

"Well, well, look who decided to join me this morning." Tony smirked.

"It's Mia's fault." Stella giggled as she quickly moved to the back. She could hear Mia gasp.

"Stella!" Mia shouted after her as she shut the door behind her with a loud laugh. Poor Mia, she just always got the short end of the stick when it came to her siblings. She took off the book bag and put it in the locker by the safe before pulling her hair into a pony tail. It was going to be a long six hours but she was forced to do it. That was the thing about having a family business, the family had to run things. Stella rolled her eyes as she thought about the time she would be getting off. But Mia promised her they would go to the beach afterwards and she was holding her to it. She hurried outside as she listened to Tony talk to Mia. "Listen, I need you two to come to straight to the garage when you get off."

"No." Stella approached them. "We were going to the beach."

"Not today." Tony replied. "I need your help at the garage for the rest of the night." Stella didn't respond as she looked over at her sister who was nodding her head.

"Unbelievable." Stella whispered under her breath as she moved into the bar area grabbing the wipes to wipe down the counter.

"Stel, there are plenty of times for you to go to the beach this summer. I really need some help tonight." Tony approached her on the other side grabbing her hand stopping her. "Listen..."

"Why do you need us? You have Dom and Vince. What is so important for you?" Stella finally asked. Tony didn't reply as Stella looked over at Mia. "Tell me."

"Stella, just stop..." Mia chimed in. This is what happened. Stella and Tony challenged each other and Mia always had to be the mediator. "Sure, we will go." Tony nodded his head slapping his hand on the counter before turning to leave.

"No!" Stella shouted. "Tell me. What are you doing that is so important to take you away from the garage?"

"Stella!" Mia shouted. Stella glared at her dad as she remained silent. Tony nodded his head as he walked towards the opening of the garage. "Be sure to lock up." He replied without turning around. Stella sighed as she threw the napkin down on the counter. "What is wrong with you?" Mia asked moving closer to her.

"He's racing again, Mia. He's been hiding it from us for weeks now." Stella turned towards her sister. "Those late nights...yeah he's been at the tracks." Mia shook her head. "Don't believe me, let's go tonight. I will show you."

"How do you know this, Stella?" Stella was silent as she took a deep breath in. "Of course..." Mia rolled her eyes. "You followed him there."

"Just once." Stella whispered. Mia threw her hands in the air. "I couldn't sleep. I went downstairs to get some water and he was on the phone being all sneaky. So I listened. He said the whole house was asleep and he would meet him down at the tracks..."

"You walked to the tracks by yourself?" Mia glared. "Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"We've done it plenty of times." Stella rolled her eyes.

"This is great, Stella! You are going to get yourself killed." The faint sound of laughter came from outside as Mia moved away from her.

"So we are down to go tonight then?" Stella asked. Mia didn't respond as she held up two fingers letting Stella know they were on. Stella giggled rubbing both of her hands together. She knew Mia couldn't say no to spying on their father. What else was there to do? He refused for them to have a normal summer because of some crap that went down on the other side of town, then he left them no choice but to be sneaky too.

* * *

Mia set down the box as she looked over at Stella who was staring at a wrench in her hand before throwing it in the box. Mia began to laugh as she walked over to her baby sister picking up the wrench and putting it back on the tool chest. "They kind of need that." Mia replied.

"Well he said throw away anything that looked like we didn't use. That didn't look touched in years."

"It's oil." Mia stated rubbing the side of the wrench and rubbing her finger down Stella's face. "It looks good on you." She laughed as Stella stood up on her feet. "Don't you even think about it." Stella grabbed the wrench in her hand and lunged towards Mia.

"HEY!" Dom shouted causing the girls to stop in their tracks as Stella still had a hold of Mia's arm. "This isn't a playground. Take it somewhere else." Mia and Stella began to laugh as Stella threw the wrench down onto the table. "Why don't you girls go outside?"

"Really?" Stella asked looking over at Mia. "You don't need us in here?" Dom paused as he rubbed his hands on the white towel that was in his hand. "Can we go home?"

"What are you two up to?" Dom asked moving closer.

"Nothing." Stella replied quickly. "We just didn't see the point in being here tonight. We never do anything." Vince stood up from the car and walked over to the group.

"I call bullshit." Vince chuckled.

"Yeah me too." Dom agreed. Stella looked back at Mia who was silent. "What are you two up to?" Stella shrugged her shoulders as Vince moved closer. The garage was silent. All you could hear were the crickets outside chirping as the sun began to go down. It was almost as if they were having a stand off but no one had guns. They were just waiting for the next person to speak but no one did. Dom nodded his head as he wiped his hands again but moving away. Vince followed him leaving the two girls standing there as Mia began to giggle. "We are going to get in so much trouble."

"Does that mean we get to leave?" Stella yelled after him. She shook her head knowing he wasn't going to answer her. The sun had already gone down leaving just a little bit of light. She knew exactly what her dad was up to and she was going to catch him. Racing wasn't a big deal until he flipped his car about five or six times and had to be cut out. He had promised he would lay off racing for a little while and just focus on the garage and the diner. Stella knew he wouldn't have been able to do it for long. Racing was in his blood but she was hoping it would be more than two months. Stella moved back over to the boxes and sat down on the floor. "Two more hours!" Dom held up two fingers to her. "You have two hours and then you two can go do whatever it is that thirteen year olds do."

"I'm twelve." Stella announced causing Mia to laugh out loud. A smile covered her entire face as Dom glared at her. "Thank you."

* * *

Stella kicked at the rocks as she walked along the sidewalk towards her house. She glared down at her hands as she tried to not look up at Mia who was walking in front of her. Dom let them leave after working for two more hours, he did lie about that. What he didn't tell them was that he and Vince would be walking with them. There was no way they were going to let them out of their sight. Stella sighed as she kicked the rock again. "Why are you so down? You got to go home." Vince chuckled putting his arm around her shoulder. "Wasn't this what you wanted?"

"No." She rolled her eyes shrugging her arm off of her. She could see the house in her view as she moved up to Mia. "This is stupid." She muttered. "Just follow my lead."

"Stel, I believe you, okay. Just let it go." Mia whispered. "We will talk to Pops about it when we see him tomorrow. This isn't worth getting grounded again over."

"He wouldn't ground..."

"Hey!" Vince shouted causing the two girls to stop in their tracks and look up. Vince was pointing the house as they both directed their view that way. Tony was grabbing the bags from a woman as a man stood at the edge of the driveway with a cigarette in his mouth. "What is she doing?" Vince moved closer as Stella and Mia looked up at Dom who was just staring ahead. "Dom?" Mia asked. "What's going on?"

"Stay behind me." Dom ordered. "That's Vince's mom and her boyfriend." Stella felt her heart jump into her throat as she watched Vince run up the driveway.

"Mom!" Vince shouted as he jerked a bag from her hand. "What are you doing?" The woman refused to look at him as she moved more bags from the car. "Tony?"

"I'm sorry, son..." Tony's face fell. The Toretto children moved closer as the pain on Vince's face became more and more noticeable.

"Your mother doesn't want you anymore, boy." The man spit the direction of Vince. "Come on Annie, get the rest of his shit out so we can go." Stella's hand began to shake as Mia clenched tightly to it.

"You are leaving?" Vince was shocked.

"You two get inside, now!" Tony pointed at Stella and Mia. Stella refused to move as she looked over at Vince who was still trying to stop his mom. "I said now!" Tony yelled. Mia jerked Stella's arm moving her towards the house. It all happened in slow motion, Stella could see it going down but had no control to stop it.

"I said lets go!" The man moved forward knocking Vince into the car and grabbing the wrist of Annie's hand. Mia and Stella were still walking towards the house when Vince lunged forward punching the guy in the mouth. The fight had started. Tony and Dom moved forward as Mia and Stella stopped in their tracks. They clung to each other as Dom tried pulling Vince off of the man. They knew it was only a matter of time before Vince lost it. This was it. His mother was leaving him for this man. "Stop!" Tony shouted as everyone pulled apart from each other. Vince's face was bloodied again. "Let's go!" Tony held his hand out to Vince. "Annie, I will take him because I love him like he was my own, but don't you ever come back here again."

"Lets go!" The man pushed past Dom and Vince as Dom held tightly to Vince. Tears fell down Stella's face as she moved forward.

"Don't you ever come back!" Vince screamed trying to get away from Dom. Dom tightened his grip on him. Vince kicked the side of the car as his mother and her boyfriend climbed in. Dom tried his hardest to hold Vince back, but it was no use. He was so full of rage, Stella was sure he was going to lift the car up himself. Tony glared at the two girls for still being outside. Stella tightened her hand on Mia's as they began walking towards the house. "I'll grab your bags, V." Stella replied softly bending down. She heard the car start as she bent down grabbing two of the bags in her hand. "STELLA!" She didn't know who screamed but it was loud. It pierced her ears as she didn't have time to look up when she felt her body being slammed to the ground just as the car went flying down the driveway. Stella let out a deafening scream as someone lay on top of her. She felt her hand was crushed beneath her body. The tears flooded down her face as she tried to catch her breath. She felt the weight lift off of her as she rolled over clenching her wrist in her hand. The wails could be heard all the way down the street as Tony lifted her in the air and hurried into the house. "Leave them!" Tony shouted as he took off running. Mia found herself paralyzed in the spot she was standing as she looked down at the ground where a pool of blood had formed where her sister had fallen. The tears stung her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hand. "MIA!" Tony shouted. Mia shook her head as she hurried into the house. "Mia, I need you to call the doctor. Tell him we are on own our way. Tell Dr. Torres what happened and tell him that Stella's wrist is broken, I need them to take a look at her stomach and chest area." Mia nodded her head repeatedly as she listened to her father speak but she couldn't tear her eyes away from her sister. She was quiet now. Her lip was busted causing it to gush blood, she could see the bruise forming on the side of her face. "Mia…"

"Is she okay?" Mia asked in a whisper. Stella looked over at her sister and gave a soft smile. "I'm scared."

"Don't be scared, baby. Everything is okay now." Tony's eyes were soft as he assured Mia her sister was going to be okay. Dom had let Vince fall against the wall as he went into the kitchen grabbing a wet wash cloth and some ice before coming back. "Okay, I need to take your sister and Vince to the hospital. I need you stay here with Mia and make sure that she eats, okay?"

"Pops…"

"Dominic…" Tony held his hand up. "I am trying to keep it together here, son."

"Okay, Pops." Dom whispered. That was the end of it. Dom helped Vince to his feet as Tony picked Stella up in his arms. They hurried outside to the Charger as Vince climbed in first grabbing Stella's body and laid her in his lap. Stella could feel his hand as her caressed the top of her head making sure her long, black hair was out of her face. "I'm okay." She whispered.

"No, you're not."

 **AN: Thank you to everyone who liked, favorited, reviewed on the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know!**


	3. Racing Again

**AN: Hope you guys are enjoying the story! This is just a fun chapter! Things are going to start heating up in the next one with Tony's racing, Letty having a crush on Dom, who does Vince had a crush on? Let me know what you think! REVIEW! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and followed the story!**

Stella's eyes shot open as she looked at the ceiling fan as it spun and spun around. The sun was shining directly into her room as her head turned to look at it. She groaned as she tried to lift her body up. She felt like she had been hit by a freight train. That's what Tony was. A freaking freight train. She leaned over putting her hand to her face. It hurt. She remembered the night before as Tony hurried into the hospital with her in his arms and Vince right on his tail. Dr. Torres was waiting for them at the door as Stella was laid on the gurney. She held tightly to Tony's hand as they wheeled her into the emergency room. _"Dad?_ " Tony had released her hand. _"DADDY!_ " She screamed leaning up. The door closed as she made eye contact with him. What was going to happen? Stella shook her head as she took in a deep breath before standing up. She hobbled over to the door and listened as the sound of drills filled up the house. She looked down at the purple cast that covered her hand as she sighed. It was summer and she had a broken wrist. She moved to the stairs and began taking them one by one. Her wrist was broken, she had two bruised ribs from where Tony had tackled her to the ground, one black eye, and busted lip. "I've seen worse." Dom replied standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"I doubt it." She mumbled taking his hand as he helped her down from the first step. "What is that noise?"

"Vince is moving in." Dom replied.

"I got that yesterday." She moved over to the couch and slowly sat down bringing her legs up before throwing the blanket over them. "Why is he is making so much racket?"

"He decided to tear down some walls down in the basement to make some rooms." Dom sat down next to her.

"Where _is_ Vince?" Dom took her hand in his. "Is he okay?"

"Not really. He blames himself for what happened." Stella shook her head. "Listen…Vince is going to be living with us for a while. I know how you feel about him..."  
"Dom…" Stella squirmed. She hated having this conversation. It might be obvious the crush she has on him but she didn't want to discuss it with anyone. "Let it go, okay." They sat there in silence when Mia appeared from the kitchen with a cup in her hand. "Is that for me?" Stella smiled.

"It's orange juice. Would you want something else?" Mia walked closer as Stella shook her head. "Are you hurting?" She shook her head again knowing it was lie. "I'm so sorry, Stel."

"Why?" Stella put the cup in her lap. "It's not your fault. It's weird…" She looked up at Dom. "I never knew how fast Pops was." Dom began to laugh as a smile formed on Mia's face. "He was nowhere near me when that guy got into the car." Stella bit her bottom lip. "Dom…is he racing again?"

* * *

Stella could hear the laughing outside as she stood up from the bed and walked over to the window. Mia was standing there with Dom and Vince laughing at something Dom had said. Vince's eyes shifted up to her window as she gave a soft wave to him. She was on house arrest until her ribs healed. It would take two to three weeks the doctor said. A figure caught her attention as she looked on the side walk as the Latina from down the street walked up to them. She wondered who she was? There was a knock at the door as Tony let it open revealing a tray full of food. "I could come downstairs and eat." Stella mumbled walking back to the bed.

"Doctor said you need to rest. You don't need to be doing stuff by yourself." Tony walked over and set the tray on her bedside table.

"I'm not broken."

"But you are." They remained silent as she looked at the door not wanting to make eye contact with him. "You shouldn't have been there."

"It was bound to happen. I've seen Vince way before the other night. I know what has been going on with him."

"Why were you home last night?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't want to be at the garage anymore. We weren't really doing anything…"

"Dom said that you and Mia were anxious to leave, like you were up to something."

"Dom always thinks I'm up to something." Tony eyed her as she grabbed the spoon on the tray and began eating her soup. She didn't want to talk to him about why her and Mia were coming home early. She wanted to make sure she was right. Dom didn't have a clue what she was talking about when she asked, but she knew what she was talking about. Vince's mom caught him off guard yesterday as he was heading out. She gave a soft smile to him. "I know that we upset you being there yesterday. And I am sorry that I got hurt." Tony nodded his head before patting his hand on the bed. He wasn't much for discussing his feelings with anyone. She knew last night was the night he almost broke down. She was hurt because of him. He jumped on top of her to keep the car from hitting her. He protected her. "Thank you for dinner."

"How about tomorrow we all go down to the beach? You can't get in the water but I know you have been dying to go down there all summer."

"Yes!" Stella squealed. "Thank you, daddy."

* * *

She heard the door close downstairs knowing the house was empty. She had pretended to be asleep when her dad came in to check on her. She wanted to know what he was up to and she was going to figure it out. She threw the covers off of her body and walked to the window as she watched her father pull the truck out of the driveway. She slowly walked down to the door and down the stairs trying not to make any noise. She kept her hand tight against her stomach making sure not to make too much movement. Breaking ribs could be the worst possible thing to break. There wasn't much that the doctor could do but run X-rays to make sure there weren't any splinters, them they just wrapped a super tight ace bandage around her stomach cutting off the circulation. Ribs are made to heal on their own. Stella had rolled her eyes when the doctor told her that. That's what led her to being bed ridden. She hurried into the kitchen and out the backdoor to the tiny garage. Tony had built it himself. He wanted a place to be able to put the Charger when he wasn't working on it. She grabbed a hold of the door with her good hand and pull. She let out a groan as the pain shot through the lower half of her body. She knew she shouldn't be doing this but she had to know. She had to know if he was racing again. As the door slid open, the Charger revealed itself to her. It was solid black. Dom and her dad had built it together. It was their baby. She moved her hand from the door and walked up next to the car as she ran her hand down the shiny black paint. It sure was a beauty. Tony would race her. He had never lost a race…until a year ago when he was put into the wall. She watched as the car flipped and flipped until it landed upside down on the left side of the race track wall.

* * *

 _She stood frozen in her seat as the noise seemed to take over her ears and her mind. She watched as the car flipped and flipped…she couldn't count the times but the car was on one side of the track and ended up at the other end. The bleachers she was sitting in shook as people began hoping off to go make sure their hero, Tony Toretto, was okay. But she couldn't move. Tony wasn't really a daredevil. He had been racing since he was teenager. This was just something he did. It never seemed to be dangerous until now. She felt someone tighten their hands around both of her arms and shake her body. "Listen to me!" Dom shouted in her face. "STELLA!" Her eyes adjusted as she made eye contact with him. "Dom…" She whispered. Her hands shook as he lifted her into his arms and off the bleachers. She took a deep breath in as she watched people continue to run down to the tracks. But why weren't they? Why weren't they going down to the tracks to see if he was okay? "Dom…" She stopped in her tracks. "Daddy…"_

 _"Come with me." Dom held his hand out again. The tears filled up her eyes and quickly began to run down her face. "He's dead?" Was it a question? Was it a statement? She didn't know but they weren't moving. They weren't going to him. "He's dead." She repeated herself as Dom hurried over to her jerking her into his arms. "He's dead. He's dead." The sobs escaped her mouth as her voice was getting louder and louder. "NO!" Dom screamed causing her to stop. "Calm down, Stel. He's going to be okay."_

 _"Dom…" Mia appeared behind them as Dom let Stella come into view. Mia had rushed over to her embracing her into her arms. She was only ten years old. She wasn't supposed to be feeling anything like this._

* * *

"What exactly are you doing?" Tony stood behind her as she jumped at the sound of his voice. "Do I have to tie to you that bed of yours?" Stella stood in silence as her father walked in. She looked down at the tires. He was racing. Tony sighed as he held his hands in the air. "I can explain…"

"Explain what?" Stella asked. "That you are racing again?"

"Stella…" Stella shook her head as she tried to move away from him. The reason his car flipped on the tracks was debris from the previous night's storm. The crew had missed it. The moment he went around the corner, his tire caught the rocks, his brakes locked, and his car flipped over and over again. It didn't kill him. He was hardly injured. It was a miracle he was able to walk away from it. But it would forever be ingrained into her brain. She knew, she just knew he was dead.

"When were you going to tell us?" She spun around to him. "Ever?" She shook her head again. "Why? Why do you want to do this so much?"

"Because I am good at it."

"You are good at a lot of things."

"You were young, Stella. You still are." Tony rubbed his hands over his face. "It is good money for us. I want you and Mia to be able to do things. Go to college. Make something of yourself."

"Do not put this on me and Mia." Stella didn't bother listening anymore as she moved into the house. She was fuming. He had almost died and he was willing to risk it all again. For what? The rush? The money? She moved through the house as she listen to the commotion going on in the living room. "Stel," Mia stopped her. That's when Stella noticed the new girl in the living room. "You okay?"

"I have to go back to bed. I'm injured, remember?" Stella heard the back door close as she moved up the stairs.

"Stella!" Tony shouted as he stormed into the living room. "I'm sorry, I didn't know we had company."

"Pops, this is Letty. She just moved in down the street. I was going to see if she could have dinner with us tonight."

"Hello, Letty." Tony held out his hand. "Sure, sweetheart. I need to go deal with your sister right now. Would you mind starting dinner for me?" He didn't wait for her to respond as he moved up the stairs.

"That was my sister. She was tackled yesterday by my dad…" Mia started.

"Mia!" Tony shouted as Mia let out a giggle as the two girls moved into the kitchen to begin dinner.

* * *

Stella threw the pencil down on to the desk as she looked out into the open garage. The sun shining bright into the room when she spotted Vince and Dom talking to a man about his car. It was her punishment to come to the garage for a week. She is supposed to be working on paperwork but her hand itched. She was bored. She sighed as she picked up the pencil again and began shoving it down the cast. "Hey." Vince replied softly walking into the room. "What are you up to?" She shook her head as she stuck the pencil deeper down. "Should you be doing that?"

"Is there something you wanted?" Stella asked throwing the pencil down on the desk. She shook her head. "I'm being punished because I found out pops was racing again. I have to come here every day for an entire week. It doesn't help that I can't really do anything because I have broken ribs and a broken wrist." Vince turned away. "I didn't do anything wrong." They sat there in silence as she kicked her foot against the desk. "You have been ignoring me for the past week." Vince turned his body towards her. His hair was growing longer as she noticed him trying to hide the bruises on his face. They were starting to fade into a greenish yellow but once close you could tell someone had hit him. His lip was still healing from the cut. "I don't blame you. I've never blamed you actually. I think what happened to you was horrible."

"I don't need your pity." He mumbled.

"Why are you being so mean to me?" There was a knock on the door as Mia walked in with the new neighbor behind her. "Hey." Stella whispered. Vince nodded his head as he stood up from the desk and walked away. Stella shook her head throwing the pencil across the room. "Still not doing too good?" Stella tolled her eyes as she stood up from the desk.

"Hi! I'm Stella." She held her good hand out and put on a fake smile.

"Letty." The Latina stuck her hand out. "It's nice to finally meet you." Letty stood tall as her long black hair cover most of her back. She wore a white tank top that looked too big for her with baggy jeans. The sound of her smacking her gum sounded in the room as Stella nodded her head. "Do you guys work on the cars here?"

"We can do some stuff." Stella replied. "But mostly just sit in here and help with the paper work." Stella moved back to the chair. "What are you two doing here?"

"Letty wanted to come by and see the place. She just moved here from San Jose."

"You like it?" Stella eyed the girl as she caught her looking outside in the garage.

"Huh?" Letty turned around. Stella began to laugh. "Sorry..."

"That's Dominic. He's our brother." Stella smirked as Mia scolded. "I think you met both of them, haven't you?"

"Yeah, the other night." Letty sat down on top of the desk as she played with the pen holder. Stella looked up just as Vince put his head down. "You two fighting or something?"

"Or something." Stella replied lifting herself up. "Let's get lunch. I am starving and I am also annoyed being here. I was promised a summer on the beach and I get this." She turned the computer off before walking to the door. "The diner?"

* * *

Laughter filled up the room as the dark room filled up with light as Stella shined the flashlight to the ceiling. They had built a sorry excuse for a fort leaving sheets all over the place. The pillows from the couch were on the floor and the three girls were lying side by side telling ghost stories. It had been a whole two months since Letty moved in down the street. The cast on Stella's arm was now full of signatures but mostly Letty's drawings. Stella moved the flashlight to her mouth and began to speak. "It was in the middle of the night when three girls were home alone they heard a noise downstairs. None of them wanted to get up to go look but they knew their parents weren't going to be home till the next day. They decided they would go check out the sound as a group. So they linked arms together and began making their way to the door...but stopped. The creaking of the wood stopped...it was in front of their bedroom door..."

"AHHHH!" Dom came running into the room tackling Stella as she threw the flashlight up in the air. The three girls let out a deafening scream as Dom began to tickle Stella. "You are terrible at telling ghost stories."

"Well then you tell one!" Stella shoved him off of her. She moved over as the two boys climbed into the fort. Dom ripped the flashlight from her hands. "This outta be good."

"Shhhh!" Dom put his finger to his mouth. "Okay...Once there was an old woman who went out in the woods to dig up some roots to cook for dinner. She spotted something funny sticking out of the leaves and dug around until she uncovered a great big hairy toe. There was some good meat on that toe which would make a real tasty dinner, so the old woman put it in her basket and took it home."

"What?" Stella sat up with a laugh. "A hairy toe?"

"Lay down!" Vince pushed her backwards. "Let him tell it."

"There is nothing scary about a hairy toe." Stella mumbled. Vince poked her in the side as she let out a squeal but nodding her head "Okay, okay."

"Listen..." Dom told her. "When she got back to her cottage, the old woman boiled up a kettle-full of hairy toe soup, which she ate for dinner that night. It was the best meal she'd had in weeks! The old woman went to bed that night with a full stomach and a big smile. Along about midnight, a cold wind started blowing in the tops of the trees around the old woman's house. A large black cloud crept over the moon and from the woods a hollow voice rumbled: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!" Inside the house, the old woman stirred uneasily in her bed and nervously pulled the covers up over her ears. From the woods there came a stomp-stomp-stomping noise as the wind whistled and jerked at the treetops. In the clearing at the edge of the forest, a hollow voice said: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!" Inside the house, the old woman shuddered and turned over in her sleep." Stella looked over at Mia and Letty who was entranced into the story. She pulled the covers up to her face as Vince grabbed her hand. "Suddenly, the front door of the cottage burst open with a bang, snapping the bar in two and sending it flying into the corners of the room." Vince tightened his grip on her hand causing her to jump. "There came the stomp, stomp, stomping noise of giant feet walking up the stairs. Peeping out from under the covers, the old woman saw a massive figure filling her doorway. It said: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!" The old woman sat bolt upright in terror and shouted: "I ATE your hairy toe!" "Yes, you did," the giant figure said very gently as it advanced into the room. No one living in the region ever saw the old woman again. The only clue to her disappearance was a giant footprint a neighbor found pressed deep into the loose soil of the meadow beside the house. The footprint was missing the left big toe." Dom smiled as he put the flashlight down.

"That's it?" Stella shot up. "Are you serious? That wasn't even scary." The front door swung open as Stella let out a piercing scream grabbing a hold of Vince's arm. The two boys began to laugh as Dom stood up to help their father into the house.

"What is going on in here?" Tony asked putting the boxes down. "What the hell happened to my living room?" The girls giggled as Dom motioned for Vince to follow him. Stella looked up at her father before laying back down letting the sheet fall over her face.

"That was pretty scary." Mia replied lying back down. "I mean what if someone ate your hairy toe?"

"Your toes are hairier than mine." Stella whined.

"I mean she could have found something else to eat." Letty replied as the girls began to laugh. It was good to have a friend over. It was always Mia and Stella together. Letty was fitting right into the family.


	4. So Do We Get A Super Hero Name?

The summer continued along as Stella found herself more and more hanging out at the garage. The more and more she found herself wanting to go there instead of the beach. She moved the box onto the desk before wiping her brow from the sweat that was beginning to form. It was definitely summer in California. And of course…the air conditioner had gone out in the garage the beginning of the week. She ran her hands through her hair before pulling it up into a pony tail. "Hey you." Vince poked his head into the office. "You want to come out here for a second?"

"What is it?" Stella didn't bother looking up from the box as she continued to take things out. Her wrist was finally out of the cast but was still very stiff. She rubbed her hand over her face again. "Just come out here." He chuckled before leaving the doorway. She sighed as she moved from around the desk and out into the open garage. It was just the two of them in there right now. Dom and Tony had headed down to San Diego to look at some parts and wouldn't be back till probably long after she had gone to bed. Mia and Letty decided that the diner was better than working in a hot garage all day. "Okay, so do you want to help me?"

"With what?" She wiped her face again. "It so hot!" She whined.

"We have one more hour." Vince assured her. "I have to change the oil in this car, do you want to help me?" She nodded her head as she moved closer to the car. She bent down as he began lifting the car up."Alrighty, so the first thing you are going to want to do is remove the drain plug to get rid of the old oil. Make sure you have something underneath to catch it. You don't want old oil all over the place." She nodded her head as she moved down to knees and looked under the car. "So once that happens, you install a new gasket onto the plug and make sure that is it tightened. We don't want it to come off. Once you are finished with that, you are done underneath here. " He pulled himself out from under the car holding is hand out to her. She laughed as she positioned herself to be able to pull him up. She felt her body sliding forward as he pulled her. A chuckle left his mouth as he finally stood up on his feet. He patted her head before moving to the engine of the car. "Now…" The sound of engines caught both of their attention as Stella looked up at Vince who was drying his hands off on a towel. The car doors closed before two men entered. Stella wiped her face again as she moved around the car to walk back to the office. She watched as Vince talked to the two men as she moved the fan in front of her face. Vince shook the man's hand before slowly walking into the office. "What do you say about me and you getting out of here?"

"YES!" Stella shouted jumping up from chair. She immediately cut the computer off before grabbing the keys and hurrying past Vince. "Who were those guys?"

"Just some guys looking for Tony."

"For what?" She moved to the doors and began pulling them down. She stopped as she looked back at Vince who wouldn't look at her. "Are they racers?"

"Your dad would kill me." Vince mumbled jerking the door down. "He knows how upset it makes you."

"You guys are lying to me." She shook her head. "He's going to do what he wants."

"We aren't lying." Vince walked outside unlocking the door to his car before opening the passenger side door for her. "I just don't think you understand."

"Because I am twelve." She rolled her eyes rolling the window down and sticking her hand out. "Will you go fast?"

* * *

Stella laid in her bed when she heard a soft knock on her door. "Yes?" She answered as the door slowly opened and Vince and Dom walked in. She sighed as she threw the teen magazine down before pushing her legs up to cross them. "Hi." They both sat down at the bottom of the bed. "What do you want?" They were beginning to have a sneaky vibe to them. "I didn't do it." She finally blurted out as Vince began to laugh causing Dom to smile.

"We know you didn't do anything wrong." Dom replied. "Vince here told me that you guys met Kenny Linder last night."

"I didn't know his name." She looked up at Vince. "They were racers though. They race with pops?"

"Yeah." Dom nodded his head. "And I am sorry that we lied to you." She remained silent. "Pops didn't want you to get upset with him. It brings in extra money for us to be able to do things. I really wanted a car…"

"I don't need things, Dom." Dom bowed his head. "I want my dad. I want him to come home to me every night."

"I know." He whispered. "We should have never lied for him." Dom grabbed her hand in his as she took in a deep breath and sighed. It was a common thing for those two to come talk to her after she had gotten into trouble. She usually never did. It was always Mia. Sometimes she had being the youngest. She was treated so much more different than anyone else in the house. "Will you forgive us?" Stella slowly shook her head as a smile formed on her face. "What?" Vince moved closer to her. "Not even just a little bit?" Stella scooted backwards on the bed as Dom and Vince moved closer to her with their hands in the air. She let out a scream just as they attacked her. She felt on her back, kicking her legs in the air, as the laughter and screams filled the air. "What is going on?" Mia asked walking in with Letty behind her.

"Make them stop!" Stella screamed.

"Say it!" Vince shouted. "Say you forgive us!"

"FINE!" She tried to catch her breath as she shoved Vince in the arm before jumping off the bed. "One of these days I am going to kick your butt."

"Doubt it." Vince laughed. "Now get dressed, we are going somewhere."

"Where?" Mia asked.

"You'll see." Vince winked at her. Stella looked over at Dom who instantly grabbed her in his arms. "Get ready and meet us downstairs in five minutes."

"I love you." Dom whispered in her ear before throwing her backwards on the bed.

* * *

Five minutes past as Stella found herself running out of her room and down the stairs into the living room where everyone was waiting for her. She looked around the room as Vince finally nodded his head and moved towards the door. "Wait, who is driving?" Mia asked holding her hand in the air. Dom and Vince exchanged looks before walking out the door without saying a word. "They keep doing that." Stella replied before following. She hurried down the steps of the house and onto the sidewalk where a red car was sitting. "And who gets this?" Vince held his hand up. "Right. I'm not getting the car with you." Mia and Letty began laughing behind her as Vince opened the door. "I'm serious."

"Then you don't get to know what we are up to." Vince smirked. Stella rolled her eyes as she drug her feet while walking to the car. She wouldn't say she was a huge car person but she enjoyed working at the garage even though she only did paper work. She imagined sometimes what it would be like to be a racer though. Her windows down, the wind blowing through her long black hair. The music turned up as loud as can be. She can see herself looking beside her at the car waiting to get their butts kicked. She was press hard down on the gas just as the whistle blows leaving a trail of dust behind her. She would win every time. She smiled to herself as she climbed into the backseat of the car and immediately rolled her window down sticking her hand out. That's what she loved about him. They went fast. She could feel the car build up underneath her as Vince would hold the pedal down to the floor. "Can you sit in the middle?" Mia knocked her out of her trance as she glared over at her sister. "You are the smallest. We all have to fit in her somehow."

"Stop arguing!" Dom shouted. "Stel, get in the middle. Let Letty sit beside you." Stella rolled her eyes as Letty had a smile plastered on her face. Letty had been sticking around a lot lately. Tony took a liking to her and enjoyed having an extra set of hands to help around the diner and the garage. She, however, took a huge liking to Dom. You could see it in her eyes. She would watch him. That's what Letty loved about the garage. Knowing Dom was there to teach her everything there is about a car. He was of course oblivious to it all. He had one thing on his mind right now and that was cars. Stella could tell he was getting the racing itch like their father. It was just a matter of time before he started it as well. "Where exactly are we going?" Mia asked. "And who is watching the diner and garage?"

"Don't worry about all that." Dom replied.

"No, because I will be the one to get in trouble if no one shows up to work."

"Shut up!" Stella shouted. "Can we go!" The car started and everyone suddenly became silent. Vince pull forward as Stella look ahead of her to see where they were going.

"You know how we talk about pops racing all the time?" Dom finally spoke. Everyone nodded their heads. "Well I think its about time that we start up our on team and see what it's all about."

"Our own team?" Stella asked.

"Like a race team? Like we are racing?" Mia chimed in.

"You guys aren't racing. But _me_ and Vince will be." Dom smirked.

"This is ridiculous."

"This is stupid!" Mia and Stella spoke at the same time. "What makes you think we want to be involved in this?" Mia asked. Vince pulled up to the red light and turned around in his seat.

"Letty, what would you like to do?" Vince asked with a smile on his face. Dom began to chuckle in the front seat.

"Oh no!" Stella shouted! "That is not fair and you know it."

"Let her speak!" Dom shouted back. "Letty?"

"What would we do?" Letty asked as Stella threw herself against the seat. They were using her and Stella didn't like it one bit. She glared at Vince as he turned back around just as the light turned green.

"Excellent." Vince replied. The rest of the way was silent as Stella continued to be mad. What were they going to do? There were two thirteen year olds and a twelve year old sitting in the backseat of some beat up car. Vince had just gotten his license who just so happened to find this random car that he could afford. They were dragging them along to one, take Stella's mind off of their dad racing, and two, the girls could do their dirty work for them while they had fun. The car came to a stop as Stella refused to move from the backseat. "Come on, Stel." Mia held out her hand. "You can't stay in the car. You will die." Stella began to laugh as she took her sisters hand and climbed out the car. The wind blew as she looked around the track. It was empty. It looked abandoned. Where were they? "I believe they have finally snapped and have taken us here to kill us."

"This is where we will be practicing." Dom turned around in a circle showing off his new place. "What do you think?"

"It's dirty." Stella mumbled as she crossed her arm over her chest. "Is this because I got so upset over Pops? I mean…I'm over it." Laughter filled the air as Vince came to put his arm around her. "This is something that we can all do together. Isn't that what you have always wanted?"

"No." Stella bluntly replied. "Half of the time you both can't stand us. So what is this really about? Can we be serious because you both are sixteen years old? I am twelve. You don't want to be spending all your time with us. And we don't either. My beach has already been taken away from me so let's spit it out."

"If you don't want to do it then you are more than welcome to leave." Dom replied. Vince removed his arm from her shoulder. There was silence as Stella looked over at Mia and Letty who found the ground to be more interesting. She was alone in this. There was no reason at all for these two boys to want three girls to help them with racing. "If you don't want to do this, Stel, then just leave." Her stomach caught in her stomach as she nodded her head. "We have work to do, so let's make a decision." Stella nodded her head knowing Dom was beginning to get tired of her. "Come on, Stel." Mia ushered her. "It's better than working at the diner."

"Yeah, man. Just stay and see how it is. If you don't like it then you don't have to do it anymore." Letty chimed in.

"What would I have to do?" Stella groaned. Mia wrapped her arms around her sister's with a squeal.

"I want you on detail." Dom replied. "Do you know what that is?"

"Drawing?" Stella's voice was low. "I am going to be drawing things?"

"I've seen your drawings, Stel. They are awesome." Vince chimed in. "I think you would be awesome at it."

"What about me?" Mia asked holding her hand in the air. "I'm not artistic at all and I would like to not work on anything." Dom chuckled. "I could do paperwork for you guys. Any money or anything coming in for you guys. I am really good at it at the diner."

"Then it's settled. You'll be our book keeper." Dom turned around to Letty. "And you…"

"I can race." She smirked. Dom and Vince began to laugh. "What? Are you afraid a girl will be able to beat you?"

"What do you know about racing?" Dom looked over at Vince with a laugh. "You can help us. Whenever we aren't working at the garage or the diner…we will be together working on whatever cars we need to get ready. Me and Vince will be looking out for opportunities for us."

"So this is it?" Stella asked. "We are a racing team now?"

"Yep!"

"So do we get some superhero name now?" Mia asked. This was it. They had formed a racing team. Stella didn't have a clue what that truly consisted of but part of her was happy to be spending time with her family. She looked around at everyone as they stood a little taller that day. They were forming something that not many would be able to do at twelve years old. She imagined what it would be like five, ten years down the road. Would she be that street racer that she always imagined she would be? She was ready to find out.

* * *

2 Years Later...

Stella ran around the car and climbed into the passenger side as Letty rolled the windows down. "And where are you two going?" Tony yelled out the front door. "Church starts in twenty minutes."

"Aw, come on!" Stella shouted. "Can't we just skip it? Just this one day?"

"No! Get out of the car and go get dressed. Don't make me ask you again, Stella!" Stella looked over at Letty who just shrugged her shoulders. "You will be going as well, Leticia!" Stella let out a laugh as she climbed out of the car and hurried up the steps. She kissed her dad on the cheek before walking into the living room.

"I knew you wouldn't make it far." Mia replied as she put down her book. "Can it not wait till later?"

"Mia, you have to come see what I drew for Vince's car." Stella replied. "It's pretty amazing!"

"Are you not coming to church?" Letty asked. Mia stood up from the couch letting the blanket fall to the ground revealing the dress she was wearing. Letty chuckled. "We were going to try to go down to the track later on today. You going?"

"I told Dom I would check out some numbers for him later on. He's been ordering parts from Japan and screwing just about everything up." Mia rolled her eyes. "How's the driving going?"

"Well your pops caught us down at the track last week while you were at the movies. We got yelled at for about twenty minutes on us being too young to be racing." Stella began shaking her head behind her as Mia began to laugh.

"So..."Mia ushered her to carry on with the story.

"So, we didn't listen. Vince has been teaching me a lot. If Dom will just let me have a chance, I know I can beat him."

"You are fifteen years old, what makes you think he would let you do anything behind a steering wheel?" Mia asked.

"Lets go!" Tony shouted from the door. "We are going to be late!"

"Listen, don't say anything, but I convinced him into racing me next week and seeing if I am worthy enough." They whispered as they walked to the door.

"That's insane, Letty!" Stella replied. "You are going to get yourself killed. They both have been racing for two years now."

"I know I can do this. He just has to give me a chance." They were silent as Stella opened the door. Letty had been wanting to race since the day they stepped foot onto that track two years ago. She could see if it her eyes every time they come near a track and a car. She knew that Letty was trying to prove herself to Dom. He had constantly had her attention since day one. It's amazing what a person would do to get someone to notice them.

 **AN: Let me know what you guys think! I will try to have the next chapter up real soon! :)**


	5. Letty VS Dom

Stella threw her legs up onto the desk and flipped open her magazine as she tried to cut out the commotion going on in the garage. It was pouring rain outside and everyone decided to choose today of all days to bring their cars in. She sighed as she flipped to the next page just as the door came open and in stormed Vince. "I need your help." He was almost out of breath. Stella's eyes were wide as she looked past him. Tony was on his way over. "What did you do?" Stella asked.

"Stel…" Vince stopped just as Tony came up behind him. "Do you want to come help me?" Vince eyed her. She nodded her head at him setting the magazine down on the desk. "Hey, Pops." Stella waved as she moved past him. "Stella Marie." She stopped in her tracks as Vince stopped too but didn't turn around. "I need to ask you a few questions. Come back over here."

"What is it?" Stella's hands began to shake as she put them behind her back.

"It has come to my attention of your brother and Letty deciding to race this weekend." Stella didn't respond. "I'm telling you this right now, you lie to me, your summer is over with." Stella still didn't move.

"I don't know anything about any races." Stella whispered. Tony had found out about their whole racing team a whole two weeks after it had started. Stella had brought some drawings home to work on for Vince's car when Tony walked in on her. She couldn't lie to him then. Dom didn't speak to her for weeks because Tony had shut it down. Stella looked over at Vince who was still staring at her. "I really don't know anything about any races right now."

"I was nice, Stella. I let you guys do this because you were doing it together. There was a promise that you girls wouldn't be put in danger at all. You did the detail, Letty helped with the maintenance. Mia…well Mia did whatever she wanted to do. That was the deal."

"And it's still the deal." Stella replied softly. "I know that Letty is dying to race Dom. He would never let it happen. She only just got her permit two weeks ago. I'm sure you just overheard them trying to one up each other. They do it all the time."

Tony nodded his head as she sighed throwing her hands up in the air. "I don't know why you keep coming to me about these things. If you didn't want us having any part in it then you should have said something." She moved past him. "I'm sorry that we are so untrustworthy." She turned on her heels and walked towards Vince who she glared at. "I can explain…" He started but she held her hand up in the air. What was going on behind her back? She knew they were keeping things from her and she was going to find out before someone gets killed.

* * *

"Are you serious?!" Stella shouted as Vince closed the door to Dom's bedroom. Tony wasn't home yet and Stella knew exactly where to find Dom. She had been in the room for five minutes when Dom admitted to challenging Letty to a race this Saturday. Stella's blood was boiling as she stood in front of the doorway so he couldn't leave. "So am I not a part of this team anymore?"

"I was going to tell you." Dom replied. Stella shook her head as she turned around to leave but Vince stopped her. "I knew Pops was going to say something to you. He goes to you, Stella, when he wants to know something. You have never been able to lie to him."

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Stella turned back around crossing her arms over her chest. There was silence in the room as she sighed. "Why are you doing this, Dom? Why did you even involve me?"

"You know why." Dom replied softly.

"Right."

"Your designs are sick, Stel." Vince finally chimed in.

"Can you move please?" She was quiet as Vince moved from the door. She held back the tears until she closed the door behind her. They immediately spilled down her face as she looked up to her sister standing at the top of the stairs. "I promise I was…." Mia started as Stella hurried away from her running into her room and slamming the door. She threw herself onto the bed she buried her head into her pillow. "Stel…" Mia knocked on the door. "Just talk to me."

"Go away!" Stella screamed. She hugged the pillow tight as she squeezed her eyes closed. Dom was right. She couldn't lie to her father. She had never been able to. They all knew that. There was another soft tap on the door as she took in a deep breath wiping her tear stained face. She hated being the youngest some times. She leaned over to her bedside table and opened it up reaching for the notebook. It was all her drawings. She had taken up drawing when she turned ten but hadn't really thought about taking it places before. It was Vince who convinced her to start drawing on cars. She sighed as she flipped to the page that she had saved for Vince's car. It was coming together nicely and she wanted to give it to him for his birthday next week. She continued to look at the page as another knock came on the door. "Let's open the door!" Dom's voice was hard as she closed the notebook and shoved back into the drawer. She walked over to the window and looked out as Vince stood in the middle of the street holding his hands up in the air. She didn't want to talk to any of them. She quickly pulled the string to her blinds letting them fall down. The sun would go down soon meaning her dad would be home too. She decided to call it a night. She took her shorts off throwing them on the floor before pulling her hair into a ponytail. She climbed into the bed just as she heard another knock at the door. "Stel...will you please just let me in." Mia's voice was begging as Stella, for one second, thought about giving in. She reached for the light, cutting it off, and closing her eyes.

* * *

The Saturday morning sun was shining bright in her room as she rolled over shielding her eyes. Why was the blinds open? She rolled back onto her back and leaned up. "Morning, cupcake!" Vince shouted from her vanity. She groaned throwing her body back onto the bed. "Let's get up!"

"No. Go away." She groaned pulling the covers up covering her face. "How did you get into my room?"

"I am very good at picking locks. I thought I would give you a few days but see how you won't even talk to your best friend, Mia. I knew we had a problem."

"Oh you see a problem now?" Stella still didn't come from under the covers. "Just go away, Vince. Don't you have something to prepare for tonight?"

"I want you there."

"No." She replied. "I'm not going. You guys have fun." She felt the bed dip down as Vince jerked the covers from her head. "Hey!" He didn't smile as he held the covers down on the bed so she couldn't move them. "What is it, Vince? You make it seem like your dog just died or something. Dom should have never asked me to be apart of the team. He knows that I can't lie to Pops. I have never been able to. It's a curse!" Vince chuckled. "But yet, you guys are still mad because two years ago he found out that we were a racing team."

"We aren't mad..."

"All I have ever wanted, Vince, was to be apart of something with you guys. It sucks sometimes. I have to live in this shadow of everyone because I am too young to do most things. And I was so happy that you asked us to be apart of the team. I could draw more. I could spend more time..." She stopped. "I felt like it was just ripped from me because I can't lie to my father." She stopped talking as she crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

"Done?" Vince asked. She glared at him before nodding her head. "We were going to tell you. We were actually going to tell you today. I have no idea how Pops found out about it. It never once crossed my mind, Stel. I swear."

"But it crossed Doms?" Her voice was low. "I would never rat you guys out. I would never do that to family." There was silence again. She shifted her weight and leaned against the bed. "So it's actually happening then? Letty is going to race Dom?" Vince nodded his head. "And what happens when she gets hurt?"

"She won't. They have been practicing." Stella nodded her head as she reached over for the notebook on her bed side table. "I drew this for you." She replied opening it up. Vince's eyes lit up as she turned the book around so he could see better. "It's not finished but I was hoping to have it done before your birthday. Her legs would go towards the back of the car..."

"Stel..." Vince's eyes widened as she looked up at him. "This is amazing!" A smile covered her entire face as she went to speak again but a loud knock on her door sounded as she jumped. "Yes?" Stella asked raising her eyebrows. "It's me." Dom's voice was hard and low as she smirked over at Vince who patted her leg before getting off the bed to answer the door. "Hey brother." Vince's voice was low. "I'll let you two be alone." Stella closed the notebook and put it back on the table before looking up at her brother. "Before you say anything..." Stella held her hand up. "There is nothing in the world that I want more than to be able to hang out with you and Vince. When you asked us to be apart of this team, it was the greatest day of my life. I know how I acted but deep down I was so happy. I never would rat you out on purpose, Dom. I want this just as much as you do."

"Are you finished?" Dom asked as she slowly nodded her head. He sighed rubbing his hand over his head before sitting down on the bed. "I had this plan that you would find out about the race tonight on the actual night. I know Pops and I know you. He would con you into saying something."

"I would have tried my hardest not to." She whispered. Dom began to laugh as he patted her leg. "Oh, Stella. You just aren't really good at keeping secrets." Stella rolled her eyes. "You are fourteen years old. Do you think that it is wise that you are doing any of this with us?"

"Mia is fifteen. So is Letty. It would be different if I was still twelve but I'm not. I know how cars work and I know a lot about racing. Our dad has been trying to hide it from us for years. I would never get behind the wheel, I just like designing stuff for you guys." There was another knock on the door as Stella leaned back against the headboard of her bed. She was popular this morning. She sighed as Dom answered the door. "Hey." Tony walked in. "What's going on?"

"We were just talking." Dom replied looking over at Stella who looked out the window. "I've been trying to get Stella to come out of her room for some time now. Maybe you can have better luck." Dom patted Tony on the shoulder before leaving the room. "What's going on?" Tony asked sitting down.

* * *

Stella moved her hand to the top shelf of the can goods when she heard a loud band behind her. She quickly turned around to her Latino friend standing at the counter banging her hand down. "Really?" She groaned grabbing the cans and moving to the counter. "Hector! What do you want?" Hector had a huge grin on his face as he moved the flier in front of her. "Have you heard?" He asked. "It's all over town. Dom and Letty are racing tonight and you aren't even going to be there."

"Put that away!" She shouted grabbing the piece of paper and crumbling it up. "My pops would walk in here any time. He doesn't know."

"So what are you doing here then?" She shook her head grabbing the cans again and moving to the back room. "They didn't ask you…" She quickly turned her head towards him giving him a looking. He shut his mouth quickly as she groaned moving past him. "My father knows something is probably going to happen tonight. Dom thinks that I should work so it will throw him off."

"I can stay if you want." Hector replied softly. Stella gave a little smile before shaking her head.

"I know how much you want to go to this. Just go. Let me know how it goes."

"Oh hey, Hector!" Tony walked into the store with a box on top of his shoulder. "What brings you in tonight?"

"I was just here to see Stella." Hector replied. "Well I should get going. I'll see you later, Stel." Stella nodded her head as she waved goodbye. She looked over at Tony who was eyeing her. "What?" She asked. Tony shook his head with a laugh before moving to the back. Stella watched as Hector hopped into a car and drive away. She wondered what was happening right now between Letty and Dom. Was she winning? Would he let her win? "Stel!" Tony shouted as she jumped and looked over at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about something." She grabbed the cloth from the shelf below before wipe the top of the counter. "What time do you want me at the garage tomorrow?"

"Stel…" Tony stopped with a sigh. "The beginning of this summer you were all against having to work. You wanted to go to the beach and hang out with your friends. I heard from a little bird that you are mad at her and you haven't spoken to her in three days. What's going on?"

"It's nothing."

"It's Letty."

"It's not Letty. I like her." Stella didn't want to continue this conversation but she knew he wasn't going to let it go. "I just…she came around and she's Mia's age. She likes Dom. Dom seems to not care at all but they are all hanging out together."

"And you're too young?"

"They think I am still twelve. It's like I will always be the little sister who can't do anything."

"Vince showed me the design you made for him for his birthday. You are very talented." Stella shook her head. "You don't think so?"

"I think that they will find someone better and I will be left alone again." Tony walked over to her as she sat down on the stool. "I like Vince likes Mia."

"Vince is like a son to me. Neither one of you should be dating him." Stella rolled her eyes.

"You aren't listening to me." Stella replied loudly. She threw the cloth down onto the counter before covering her face. "I just don't want to be here anymore." Tony nodded his head putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You can go then." Stella looked up at her father. "Stella, it was your night off. Enjoy it. Go hang out with Hector." She rolled her eyes again as Tony began to laugh. "Okay, don't hang out with him. But go find some friends and go to the movies." Stella nodded her head as she hoped off the stool and kissed him on the cheek. "Be good and be careful."

"I love you, Pops!" Stella skipped outside to the street and looked up it. The streets light came on lighting the entire street. She looked behind her as Tony was still looking at her. She turned away quickly just as a car came speeding up to her and Hector jumped out. "STELLA!" He screamed grabbing her shoulders. "You have to come quick!"

"What is it?" Stella shouted as fear overtook her. What could it be? Dom and Letty that's all it could be. She quickly turned around to Tony running outside. "Get inside!" Tony shouted. "Lock up and go home!" Stella nodded her head. Shit. They were going to be in so much trouble. "Hector, let's go!" Stella stood outside as Hector looked back at her before climbing into the backseat of the car. Tears sprung to Stella's eyes as she turned back to the store. She ran in grabbing the doors behind her and jerking it down. She grabbed the keys from behind the counter and began locking up. It was going to be a long night, she knew that for sure.

* * *

Stella paced back and forth in the living room of their Los Angeles house. The couch was a yellow color. Something her mother had picked out a long time ago and Tony could never get rid of it. He hated that couch though but now Stella found herself staring it. Why was it yellow? Who would want a yellow couch? The door opened and slammed as she looked up at a scared Vince. "Wha-" She moved towards him but he put his hand up. "Vince."

"Get inside!" Tony shouted as Mia slowly opened the door and walked in. "Everyone sit down!" Stella slowly sat down on the couch as Mia hurried and moved next to her.

"Where is Dom and Letty?" Stella asked. Vince shook his head. "Are they okay?"

"Stella…are you involved in this at all?" Stella looked over at Vince who looked down at the floor. Tears sprung to her eyes as she slowly nodded her head. "You knew?"

"I knew." She whispered. Tony slammed his hand down onto the table next to the door. Mia and Stella jumped as Mia quickly grabbed her hand. "What happened?" Her chest jumped as the tears flowed down her face.

"You want to know what happened?" Tony moved over to them. "Your brother decided to go forth with racing Letty. Their egos are the size of grapefruits. The other wouldn't give up until they clipped each other. They were spinning out of control until a wall finally stopped them." Stella wiped her face as she shook her head. "Dom's arm got caught between the wall and the car."

"Are they…" Stella stopped as she sobs caused her not to speak clearly.

"They are alive. They are lucky." Tony's voice was calm. "I will be going to the hospital. Do not think this is over. You all grounded until I say otherwise. Do not come out of your rooms for anything. You have to pee you hold it until you can't any longer then you can come out."

"Dad…" Tony held his hand up. Stella shook her head as she moved up to the stairs and hurried into her room. She slammed the door throwing herself onto the bed as she sob s came out into her pillow. The door downstairs slammed closed as the entire house shook.

* * *

Stella's door slowly opened as Mia walked in with Vince behind her. Stella wiped her face as she nodded her head letting them know it was okay for them to come in. "What happened? You said she was ready. She said she would be safe." Vince shook his head. "He is going to kill us." She squeezed her eyes closed. "No." Vince whispered bringing her into his arms. "I will not let you get blamed for this."

"He knows I knew, Vince!" She shouted. "He knew I was lying to him."

"This isn't your fault, Stel." Mia replied. Stella looked up at her sister before moving over to her wrapping her arms around her neck. "I sure have missed you."

"I'm sorry." Stella cried. Vince sighed rubbing his hands over his face. "What happened?"

"They were doing fine. Your dad was right though. They are both stubborn. Letty wasn't going to let up. She wasn't going to win. She knew it. She was trying to scare him into slowing down, I know that's what she was doing but she just went over too much. She clipped him just a little bit but the speed just caused them to spin out of control." Vince shook his head. "Dom's arm was hanging outside the car. He's lucky he gets to keep it. I don't know how she did it but she pulled him from the car. She put pressure on his arm until the ambulance arrived."

"I do not even want to know what happened with pops showed up." Stella replied.

"I saw him get out of Hector's brothers car. I was confused at first but I knew it…Letty is going to be okay. They just wanted to take her just in case she has a concussion."

"So they are okay?"

"Yeah." Vince patted her leg.

"We should probably get out of here. I don't want to listen to him yell at us any longer." Mia replied as she released Stella. "I'll see you later, Ste."

"Thank you." Stella whispered. "Thank you for letting me know I was crazy." Vince and Mia began to laugh as they moved through the door shutting it behind them. Stella continued to look at the door as she let her mind wonder. Mia wouldn't do that to her right? Vince was off limits. Mia _had_ to of known that.

 **AN: Question for everyone...at what age do you think Dom and Mia was when their dad died? Do you think he was around for these wrecks that happened or do you think it was an early age? Let me know what you think!**


	6. JT

Stella stood up from the bed and walked over to her door putting her ear to it. She didn't hear any voices as she slowly turned the knob and peaked outside. The hallway was empty as she looked towards the corner where Dom's room was. She quickly tiptoed towards his room and knocked on the door. "What?" Dom replied as she opened the door and hurried inside. "Stella, what are you doing?"

"I haven't seen you." Stella replied. "I mean I have…I just…" She sighed as she moved closer to him to get a better look. "You scared me to death, Dom."

"I scared myself." He replied softly. He motioned for her to come over as he held his hand out to her. "Stella, none of this is your fault. We got cocky. There was no way I was going to let her win. It should have never happened."

"Pops is out for blood. I haven't seen Mia all week." Stella looked towards the door. "I shouldn't be in here."

"Stel…" Dom sat up in his bed. "I'm really sorry for everything."

"I know you are. I wish I could take back what happened to you. I am so happy that you are okay." Footsteps sounded in the hallway as she tightened her grip on his hand. "Oh no!"

"Stella!" Tony shouted from the hallway as Dom let go of her hand. She sighed as she moved to the door and opened it. "What are you doing?"

"I just wanted…"

"Get over here!" Stella looked back at Dom who nodded his head. She moved outside shutting his door behind her as Tony pointed into her room. She quickly moved past him and crawled onto her bed. "What did I say about leaving this room?"

"I just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"I would have told you if he was dead." Tony snapped. "I specifically told you to not leave this room until I say. Why do you keep disobeying me?"

Stella shook her head but remained silent. She sniffed back the tears that were threatening to fall down her face. He had never yelled at her the way he had this entire week. "Don't move. Do not come out. I will bring dinner up to you." She nodded her head as she wiped her face of the tears that betrayed her. Tony became silent as she closed her eyes and bowed her face. "Stella…" He stopped himself before turning around and leaving her room. That's when she let it flow. She covered her face with her hands as the tears spilled down her face onto her bed. He had never been mad at her like this before.

* * *

Stella found herself looking in the mirror has she brushed her long, black, wet hair. She sighed as she put the comb down when she heard the laughing outside on the sidewalk. She slowly walked over to the window and peered out as Mia and Letty began laughing at something that was said. Mia looked up at her as if she could tell Stella was watching them and gave a small smile. Stella held her hand up before pulling the blinds down. She was still grounded. She had time added to her sentence for being in Dom's room when she knew she wasn't supposed to be. Letty's arm was in a red cast with black lettering all around it as so many people had signed it. She hadn't seen Dom she was in his room. She knew his arm was worst off from Letty's seeing as he almost lost it. She swallowed hard as she heard a soft knock on her door. She didn't even bother turning around as the door opened. She stared at the white blinds that now blocked her view from outside. "I just wanted to come in and remind you that you have registration for school at 7pm tonight." Tony stated. Stella nodded her head. "Stella…it just a few more days."

"I'm fine." She mumbled. "I'll be ready at seven." There was silence. She heard the door close as she finally turned around. He had left her room. She was so mad at him. It was almost like he was taking all of his anger out on her because she knew about the race. Mia, Vince, and Dom were all at the race. They were physically there but she was being punished the worse. She sighed as she moved over to her bed and pulled out the notebook she used to draw in. She opened up the page to Vince's drawing and looked at it. A filling of anger overtook her as she ripped the page from the book and began tearing it up. Tiny pieces flew in the air as she threw the notebook across the room. Her summer was almost over and she hadn't spent maybe three or four days at the beach. She was either in trouble, her wrist was broken, or she was working so her father could go race. She was angry. She could hear the laughter again as she threw her body down against her pillows. There was another knock at the door as she continued to look up at her ceiling fan that was moving around and around. "Stel?" Vince's voice could be heard as she continued to lay there. "It's me." She rolled her eyes. As if she didn't know who it was. "I'm coming in."

"Go away." Stella replied just as the door opened. "You will get me in trouble."

"He's outside in the garage." Vince replied. There was silence. Did he see the paper on the floor?

"Good for him." She pressed her lips together. "The last time I talked to someone that I wasn't supposed to, I got another week added to my sentence. Unless that is your motive, I would suggest that you get out before we both get in trouble. I can already tell you, I will be in more trouble than you." There was silence. "Go away, Vince."

* * *

"Stella, let's go!" Tony yelled from the bottom of the stairs as Stella moved from her room. She hurried down the stairs, straight past him, and out the front door. It was just her and him tonight as Mia's registration was the day before. She climbed into the black Charger quickly putting on her seatbelt waiting for Tony to climb in and start the car. She looked out the window as Mia was on the porch swing with a book in her hand just staring at her. "You ready?" Stella nodded her head as she turned to look straight ahead. "So is this silent treatment going to be a thing between us now?"

"I've been in my room for about three weeks now. What did you think I had to talk about?" Her voice was cold.

"I want you to understand why you were grounded."

"Oh, I understand." She finally looked over him. "I lied to you because I didn't want my brother and sister to hate me. Do you know how hard it is to try and fit in with them when I am younger? They don't want to hang out with me because I bring them down. I'm not as fast as them. I'm not as smart as them. And Dom is right. I can't lie to you. I have never been able to. So they didn't tell me about the race. I didn't know when you asked me in the garage. I had no clue." Tony nodded his head. "But I found out the morning of and I wanted so bad to apart of this team that they created that I kept my mouth shut. I didn't even go so you wouldn't know. But yet, I get the worst punishment because I knew. They all went. They participated but yet you still yell at me. You make me stay in my room for weeks. Is it not bad enough that I am probably not even wanted anymore that you keep me from even having a summer? I am sorry that I wasn't in my room when you told me to be. But I wasn't there when it all happened. I didn't know if you were just sugarcoating what happened to Dom to make me feel better. I hadn't seen him at all. I just wanted to see him. I wanted to know for myself."

"Stella…" He reached over for her but she pulled her arm away wiping the tears from her face. "I was teaching you a lesson."

"It's been learned." She replied softly. She looked up at the school. "I can do this by myself." She replied climbing out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She hurried into the school running straight into a boy. She sighed as she looked up into his dark, brown eyes. His black hair covered his left eye as he reached up swooping it over. "I'm so sorry." She replied. "I wasn't looking at where I was going."

"It's okay." He smiled down at her. "Here let me get the door for you."

"Thank you." The butterflies creeped up in her stomach as she slowly moved through the door, looking back at him. "Name." She jumped as she realized she was standing at the table.

"Um…Stella Toretto." The lady nodded her head before scrolling through the names before coming to hers pulling out a piece of paper with her schedule on it. "Stella, huh?" The guy was behind her. "I'm JT." He held his hand out.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled. She squealed on the inside but it was soon replaced by annoyance as her father walked through the door. "Stella…" Tony appeared beside her looking at JT. He nodded his head before moving away from her. "Really?" Stella rolled her eyes as she grabbed her schedule and moved to the door. "Did you have to do that?"

"Let's talk about this at home." Just as she went to open the door, it was opened from the outside.

"Johnny!" A short, skinny man stood there. Tony tightened his grip on Stella's hand causing her to scream out, jerking away from him. "Stella, let's go!" Stella rubbed her wrist as she watched the stare down match happen between her father and the man. Stella looked behind her just as JT walked up. She moved outside as her dad hurried her to the car. "What is your problem? Are you trying to break my wrist again?" Tony stopped causing her to stop in her tracks as well. It just flew out of her mouth. She didn't mean to say it but it showed all over his face how hurt he was. It was silent as she climbed into the car and looked out the window. JT and his dad were still standing in the doorway of the school looking their way. "Who is that?" Stella asked.

"It doesn't matter." Tony pressed hard down on the gas, sending Stella flying into the back of her seat. There was something about that man that her dad didn't like. There was something that scared him. Stella looked over at her father who was concentrating on the road. She wondered what it could be.

* * *

Tony whipped the car into the driveway before cutting it off and looking over at Stella. "The Trans..." He stopped. "I don't want you associating with that boy at all."

"He opened the door for me. You act like he asked me to marry him." Stella rolled her eyes. "Can I go?"

"Stella...you have to understand." Stella held her hand up stopping him. "Stella..." She shook her head as she got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She moved up the steps to the house and opened the door that led into the kitchen. "Hey!" Mia hopped up from the table. "I was beginning to wonder what took so long." Stella looked over at the table where everyone was sitting including Letty. "Are you okay?" The door opened behind her before she could speak as she turned around to her father. "Dominic, Vincent...I need to speak with you."

"I'll be in my room." Stella mumbled.

"Stella!" Tony yelled after her.

"Don't worry about it." Stella replied as she climbed the stairs. She shuffled into her room, throwing herself on the bed. "Stel?" Mia stood in the door way. "Can we talk?"

"I'm still grounded, Mia. What do you want?"

"I'm really sorry for what is happening to you. I never imagined he would be this way towards you." Stella nodded her head. "Vince said you tore his drawing up."

"It wasn't _his_ drawing." Stella rubbed her hands over her face. "I'm not doing that anymore. He can find someone a lot better than me to design something for his car."

"You think we don't want you apart of the team anymore?" Stella didn't reply. "Stella, how could you ever think that?"

"Because its true." Stella whispered. "He never wanted me to be on it. He only asked because we were stuck to the hip. He knew if he had one he had to have the other. I am taking myself out of the equation."

"I don't want that." Mia moved closer in. "Stella, I want you to be apart of everything with me." Stella could see the sorrow in her sisters eyes.

"You don't need to be in here, Mia. I will get into more trouble. I almost can't wait to start school so I can get out of this house for a few hours."

"I can talk to him." Stella shook her head.

"After what just happened at the school, I am sure he will try to home school me." Stella rolled her eyes with a sigh. She was over being in that room. She was over being in that house. Part of her just wanted to have a new life where she wasn't a Toretto. "I'll see you later, Mia." With that Stella stood up and closed the door in her sisters face.

* * *

It was the weekend, meaning come Monday, school would start. Stella couldn't wait. Part of her was glad to get out of the house but the other part was dying to know more about this JT kid. What was so wrong with him? Why did her father hurry her away from him when his father approached? Why was he so dang cute? She smiled to herself as she lifted herself up from the bed and moved to her door. She had a lesser sentence. She was no longer grounded to her room but was allowed to move through out the house. She was still on house arrest so no going outside. No hanging out with Mia and Letty. It was like he wanted to torture her. She sighed as she moved through the hallway and to the stairs. "Hey!" Vince was sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in his hand. "Want some breakfast?"

"We have a kitchen table for you to eat at." She mumbled walking into the kitchen. "Where is everyone?"

"The garage." He replied loudly so she could hear him. She grabbed the cereal from the top of the frig and began pouring some into the bowl when she heard feet shuffling in. "I am under strict orders to bring you to the garage when you got up." She nodded her head. She grabbed the milk before looking up at him. "Who is JT?" Vince stopped halfway from putting the spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "What?" He asked.

"You heard me. Pops almost ripped my wrist from my arm trying to get me away from him and his father on Thursday during my registration. Why was he so scared?"

Vince shook his head. "Just tell me." She was getting annoyed. "I was told to stay away from him. Why?"

"He is just bad news. His family...they do bad things."

"Like what? Kill people?"

"If need be." Vince sighed.

"I was just kidding, Vince." She sat the bowl onto the counter and looked up at him. "Can you just tell me?" Vince was silent as the front door opened. She sighed tossing the bowl in the sink and moving away. "Fine!" Vince shouted.

"Fine what?" Mia walked in looking at the two. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Stella replied. "I'm going to get ready. I'll be down in a few." She paused as she stood at the bottom of the stairs and listened. "How's it going?" Mia asked. "She's seems a little better."

"I am trying to get through to her, Mia. We really messed her up, I think."

"Let's talk to Dom and see what he wants to do." Stella listened a little longer before moving upstairs. She knew she was giving them a hard time. It had been hard on her as well. She felt left out. She felt…unloved at the moment. It wasn't a good feeling at all. She hurried to get some clothes on before hurrying down the stairs where Vince was waiting on her. "You ready?" She nodded her head as he held the door open for her. She hurried down the stairs to his car and climbed into the front seat. "We have a few minutes, you want to talk?" Vince turned to her. She slowly nodded her head. "You tore up the drawing you had for my car…why?"

"I was mad. I didn't want to do it anymore. I worked so hard on that and I didn't even get to do it. There is no way that Pops is going to let me be on this team anymore. I felt like I was only asked because me and Mia were around each all the time."

"You were asked because you are amazing."

"Stop." She whispered. "Just say it. I'm too young. Dom doesn't want me around."

"Dom is a seventeen year old boy who doesn't know what he wants." Vince smirked.

"Oh and you do?" A little smile formed on her face.

"There's that smile." He replied softly rubbing his hand over the back of her head. "I want you with us. I told Dom how amazing you are at drawing. I asked for you to be on the team. I don't regret doing it, Stel. What happened with your dad was all of our faults. What happened with Dom…Letty and Dom are two of the most stubborn people I know. It's both of their faults. They knew the consequences and they continued to be stupid. He needs to be happy that he didn't lose his arm." Vince sighed. "Johnny Tran's family are just known in California to get what they want no matter the cost. Tran's father, Lou, used to race with your dad. Lou couldn't lose. He didn't like it. And he wouldn't accept it so he cheated. He almost killed your father. You were little. You wouldn't be able to remember even if you tried. That's why he keeps it from you. He doesn't want you to worry about him. He doesn't want you to be involved in any of this because you are his youngest. You are the baby whether you like it or not."

"It's not fair to JT to be shunned because his father is a bad person."

"You are right. I just don't want to see you get hurt or caught up in something that gets you killed."

"I don't see how that would be possible seeing as I am not allowed to leave the house until I am thirty." She rolled her eyes taking in a deep breath. "I know he is trying to protect me from the racing world by grounding me but it only makes me resent him more."

"Do you forgive me?" She slowly turned her to head to look at him. He held his hand out to her as she nodded her head with a smile. "Thank God!" He reached over jerking her into his arms and she squealed to get free. "I sure have missed you." He kissed her on the top of the head. "We have to go now before we both get grounded again." She smacked him on the arm as he put the car into drive and pulled out of the driveway. "Do you like Letty?" Stella asked.

"She's okay. I mean…she's a girl who is into cars. Who doesn't like that?"

"She likes Dom."

"That is very obvious to about everyone. Why do you not like her?"

Stella remained silent. "She could never replace you." Stella's smile remained on her face as he pulled into the garage. Tony was standing outside looking at them as Stella remained in the car until Vince came over to open her door. "Such a gentlemen." He shoved her aside as the laughter escaped her mouth. "I like her." She finally replied. "I think she will give Dom a run for his money one day."

 **AN: Welcome to the life of a 14 year old girl who has a crush on her brothers bestfriend. :rolls eyes: it was very cringeworthy writing this chapter because of all the moping and sadness going on in her life. But I hope you guys liked it! REVIEW!**


	7. I Love Pizza

Stella moved her book bag up on the bed to make sure everything was in there for her first day in ninth grade. She was going to be in high school with everyone else this year and she couldn't wait. She smiled to herself as she closed the bag back up and put it down on the floor. She had her clothes laid out on the bed just waiting to be worn. There was a soft tap on her door as she quickly turned around to see it who it was. "Hey, you." Tony walked in. "I see you are all ready for school tomorrow."

"Yep! Just making sure everything is together."

"Are you excited? Nervous?" He sat down on the edge of her bed as she shook her head. "Nothing?"

"Are you nervous or excited?" Tony began to chuckle. "I'm going to be fine. I'll have Letty and Mia in the grade above me. Dom and Vince will be there…sometimes."

"I just can't believe you are going into the ninth grade."

"I love you." She replied. "But you really got to stop worrying about me. I am going to be alright. You've taught me everything I need to know about life, daddy. I just need you to trust me."

"I am just trying to remember when you grew up on me."

"I'll always be your little girl." She leaned down wrapping her arms around his neck. "Now get out so I can finish getting ready for bed." Tony chuckled as he lifted himself off the bed and patted her on top of her head. Just as he was leaving, Dom appeared at the door. "Hey, Pops!" Dom slapped the side of the man's arm. "Stel, we are leaving around seven tomorrow if you still want to ride with us. I'll even let you have the front seat." Dom smirked.

"I'll be ready."

* * *

Stella moved through the crowded hallway with her schedule in hand. Everyone looked bigger than her. She hurried away from two guys who looked like they were about to fight. "Hey." She looked up at the person who stopped in front of her. "You okay?"

"Hey." She smiled. "J..T right?" She knew what it was but she couldn't be obvious about it.

"Yeah, it's Johnny but you can call me JT." She smiled again. "It's a crazy first day, isn't it?"

"Yeah, my other school wasn't nearly as crowded as this."

"It'll die down once everyone gets over the first week. Many of the seniors will clear out of here."

"And what grade are you in?"

"I'm in eleventh." He was older than her. He was almost her brother's age. She looked around looking for any of her family. She could feel eyes watching her. "What lunch do you have?"

"Um…" She looked down at the schedule. He immediately jerked it from her hands causing her to giggle. "I am able to read it." She replied.

"Let's see here…" He ran his finger down the page. "Cooper… he's okay. He likes football so if you get him talking about that, you will be good. Stone…she's tough but keeps it interesting. You are in honors English."

"Listen…" She jerked the paper back. "Weren't you just looking at what lunch I had?"

"Oh yes!" He grabbed the paper again as she rolled her eyes. "Second. Me too. You can sit with me."

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Hey, Johnny!" Two girls passed by as he held his hand up and waved.

"You need me, Stella Toretto. You just don't know it yet." He handed her back the paper before walking backwards holding on to his book bag by the strap. He never broke eye contact with her until she shook her head and turned away. It was definitely going to be an interesting day. But she couldn't wait until lunch time.

* * *

The lunch bell rang as Stella hurried through the hallway trying not to be obvious that she was dying to get to the lunch room to meet Johnny. She turned the corner and stopped herself taking in a deep breath before moving in. It was crowded. How was she was going to find him. "Hey!" He appeared next to her with his shaggy, black hair swinging to the side of his face. A smile plastered his face knowing he had scared her to death. She looked up into his dark, brown eyes and smiled. "You hungry?" She nodded her head. "JT!" A boy came over, slapping their hands together. "What's good? You going on for soccer this year?" Johnny looked back at her as she began scanning the crowd looking to see if her sister or Letty had the same lunch. "Sorry about that." He came back to her. The boy remained where he was staring at her as they moved through the crowd together. "How is your day going so far? You like your classes?"

"You were right." She smiled. "Football could possibly be Mr. Coopers favorite subject. We spent about forty five minutes of the class talking about it." Johnny began to laugh. "What is there to eat here?"

"Well…" Johnny grabbed a tray. "There are sandwiches, pizza, chicken fingers…" She followed him grabbing her tray and headed straight for the pizza. "I see we know what we want."

"Then pizza it is."

"I love pizza!" JT smiled at he led her to the line. She looked up at him wanting to examine everything about him but he couldn't take his eyes from hers. How could her father hate him so much? He seemed so perfect. Even his hair lined his face so perfectly. The line moved forward as she grabbed the pizza box opening it up to make sure it was her favorite…pepperoni. "So tell me about yourself, Stella?"

"What do you want to know?" She grabbed the water bottle that was sitting in front her face.

"What do you like to do?" Stella giggled before shrugging her shoulders. "So you live a boring life?"

"I mean…"

"Okay, so I find that hard to believe." He smiled at her again as she took a bite of her pizza. "Tell me…what makes you happy?"

"I like the beach." She replied softly. "I didn't see much of it this past summer but it's still my favorite place."

"What else?" He kept his eyes on her the entire time as she finally looked down at her food.

"My father wants me to have nothing to do with you. Why?" Johnny finally looked away from her with a sigh. "Are you dangerous?"

"No." He scuffed. "My family is in a lot of things dealing with money. Some, you may say, is illegal but I'm not involved. My father and yours, they just have known each other for a very long time. Yours isn't a fan." Stella remained silent. "Does that scare you away from me?" She shook her head but still didn't speak. "I like you, Stella. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

"I'm not." She whispered. "But I do have three men in my life who would kill for me. I've been in trouble most of this summer because we all decided we wanted to have a street racing team. It has been going on for years but Dom and Letty decided to race each other and it ended badly. I got most of the punishment because I knew about it and I lied."

"How was any of that your fault?"

"I'm fourteen. Everyone else is older than me."

"Stella, you…"

"Stella!" Mia was loud as she stood behind her. Stella sighed as she rolled her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, JT. But I should probably go." JT nodded his head as she lifted herself up from the table. "Thank you for lunch." She didn't wait for a response as she grabbed her book bag and moved towards her sister. She was embarrassed as she could still feel JT's eyes on her. "Thank you for that." Stella walked past her sister just as the bell rang.

"Stella!" Mia grabbed her arm jerking her back. "What are you thinking? You were told not to talk to him."

"He is harmless, Mia. He didn't even do anything. We were just eating lunch together."

"I'm going to have to tell Pops." Stella shook her head before walking away. Mia knew that if she got in trouble she would be out of the team for good. Stella tried to hold back the tears that threatened her eyes as she hurried through the crowd to her next class.

* * *

She threw her books on the table before plopping down putting her face in her hands. "Hey Stel!" Tony walked in as Stella sat up straight and unzipped her bag. "How was the first day of school?"

"Great." She mumbled. She took her books out as she began working on her homework. "Weren't you supposed to go to the garage today to go help Dom with something?"

"Mia went." She didn't bother looking up from the table.

"Do you need some help?"

"Not tonight, Pops. I just have to copy something from my book and explain it tomorrow in class. I don't have a lot to do." Tony just stood there for a little while longer as Stella wished he would leave her alone. Evidently Mia didn't tell on her but that didn't mean she wasn't going to. She sighed as she listened to his feet shuffle away from her. She could hear the laughter outside as everyone walked into the back door of the house. She gave a soft smile before going back down to her work. "Hey you!" Vince walked over to her. "How was your first day?"

"It was fine. I didn't realize how many people would be there."

"It's a lot different than your other school. Did you make any new friends?" Stella looked over at Mia as she licked her lips.

"I sat with Johnny Tran at lunch today." She bit the inside of her cheek as she continued to stare at her sister until Dom moved into her view. "It was harmless. He was being nice because I looked lost."

"Mia said that he was talking to you in the morning as well, looking over your schedule."

"He's not like his father." She set her pencil down. "But sure, Dom, I won't talk to him anymore."

Vince ran his hand down her head as she picked up the pencil again. "I actually have homework to do so if you could please leave me alone."

"Are you going to come to the garage tomorrow?" Dom asked.

"Sure, Dom." That was it. No one spoke again as she didn't bother fighting back the tears. They created a puddle on her paper as she looked up not realizing Mia was still standing there. They didn't speak as Stella closed her book and shoved it back into her bag. She licked her lips from the saltiness as she moved past her sister and into the living room. She felt like she was being treated like she was toddler who couldn't even tell right from wrong yet. It was getting old real fast and she was over it. She hurried upstairs to her room throwing her book bag on the bed before walking to the bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

The alarm blared in her ear as she quickly slammed her hand down on it shutting it off. She prayed her eyes weren't still swollen from the night before. She threw her legs over the side and began getting ready for school when a soft knock on her door caught her attention. "Yes?"

"Hey." Mia walked in. "I was wrong yesterday to question why you were with Johnny. We've all heard stories about his family and it's wrong to think he is the same way."

"I don't even know him, Mia." She ran the brush through her hair.

"I don't want there to be all this tension between us. It's been here since the wreck and I don't like it."

"I don't know what I am supposed to say to you, Mia. Everything has been completely different with everyone. Maybe I should just stay away until I am old enough to understand all of this. I'll stay away from Johnny. I'll stay away from racing. I just want to get back to normal where I am not questioned whether I am telling the truth or not. I am not a liar. I have never been but that is how I feel right now. So I'm done." She shook her head. "I don't want to do this anymore. I'll find new friends and I'll hang out with them. You guys do the garage and the cars, I don't want to anymore." She moved past her sister as Mia held her hand up to say something. She hurried down the stairs where Vince was waiting for her. "It's for the best and don't try to change my mind." He held the door open for her as she moved towards his car. It was for the best. She was only fourteen years old and didn't need to be involved in anything. She needed to find friends her age who enjoyed….she looked out the window. What did she enjoy? She wasn't sure. She loved the garage. She loved the diner. She loved learning new things about cars. She loved working with her family. She sighed as she looked out the window as Vince started the car. "I can't wait to be older."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be." She rolled her eyes. "Stel…" She slowly looked over at him. "Between you and me…I want you with us. I don't want you to quit."

"I will never be trusted to do anything. You guys will never be trusted to do anything as long as I am on the team. Don't worry about me, Vince. I will still be around." She patted his arm with a smile. "I need to be a girl for a while." The car pulled into a parking spot at the school as she grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulders. "Thanks, V. I'll see you later." She moved in with the line of students walking into the building. She could see Johnny standing near the door as she stared straight ahead and walked past him. She could hear the laughter as she tried to tune it out. "Stella!" He shouted her name. She cursed under her breath as she turned around to him tightening her grip on the straps of her bag. "Hey!" There that gorgeous smile was. "I was hoping I would see you this morning."

"Hi." She whispered. "Listen, I have a little more homework I need to get done before class. Can we talk later?"

"Are you avoiding me?" He smirked. She couldn't help but giggle as she nodded her head. She wasn't going to lie to them. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's my fault and I am sorry. I just am tired of being treated like a little kid. So I guess I should start listening to what other people tell me. Thank you for being so nice to me."

"Listen…" He touched her arm. "I'm always here, okay. I know I am older than you but…"

"Stella." Mia was behind her again as she shook her head. Johnny didn't even respond as Stella looked behind her. "I just…" Stella shook her head and walked away not even letting her sister speak. This was going to be a long year that was for certain.

* * *

"Hi!" A girl appeared in front of her as Stella sat at the longest table in the cafeteria reading a book. "We have Algebra together. I saw you sitting here by yourself and thought I would join you."

"Sure." Stella smiled moving her stuff from the seat and closing her book. "I'm Stella."

"Maggie." Stella smiled at the girl. "I've seen you around town, I think. Your brother is Dominic Toretto right?" Stella couldn't help but laugh as she nodded her head.

"Yes that's my brother unfortunately." The girl giggled. "It sucks being known for your brother."

"Oh you aren't known for your brother. People know you because JT Tran was talking to you and was seen eating with you." Stella cocked her head to the side. "He has the attention of every girl in this school and he chose to eat with a freshmen."

"I really don't want to be the talk of the school." Stella rolled her eyes. "I don't want to be the talk of anything. I met him at orientation where I literally ran into him. He was nice to me. He's been nice to me ever since."

"And he's very hot." Maggie smirked. Stella couldn't help but laugh as she could feel her face getting red. "Don't be shy. You should go for it. His family is very wealthy. He drives a nice car. And he's a junior showing interest in you."

"My dad would have a fit." Stella whispered. "Not to mention Dom. JT is very hot and I can't stop gazing into those beautiful, brown..."

"Oh please go on." Johnny stood next to them as Stella shut her mouth immediately as Maggie began laughing in her hand. "My beautiful, brown..."

"We should go!" Stella hoped up. "The bell is about to ring."

"No, please. I saw you sitting here and wanted to come say hi to you and..."

"Her name is Maggie and she is my new friend." Stella nodded her head as she went to move forward but he stopped her. "John..."

"Well Maggie, Stella's new friend. It is very nice to meet you. There is a party this weekend and I think you both should attend."

"I would love to! Maggie squealed as Stella shook her head. "But Stella is right, we should definitely get going as the bell is about to ring." Maggie looped her arm through Stella's and moved away from the table where he still stood. The smile spread across his entire face as Stella couldn't tear her eyes from him. "He is going to be the death of me." Stella mumbled as they glided down the hall. Maggie was still giggling as the two moved to their next class. A party on Saturday? And he invited her, himself. He wanted her there. She shook her head knowing it was damn near impossible for her to even go unless...she lied.

 **AN: Let me know what you guys think! REVIEW!**


	8. Lying

Saturday came faster than Stella expected it to. She found herself staring at her door not wanting to go out there. Why? Because she had to ask to go hang out with her new friend, Maggie, who then is going to go to a party that Johnny Tran is throwing. Her hands were shaking as she reached for the door knob but quickly drew back. Why was she so nervous? She had to be calm if this was going to work. She had to just tell this one little lie and was it really a lie? She was just going to leave out the part about hanging out with Johnny at his house while most of the school was there. She took a deep breath in as her hand grabbed the door handle and opened the door. She could smell the bacon as she slowly moved through the doorframe into the hallway. Everyone's doors were open meaning they were already up. She made her way over to the stairs and slowly descended. "Hey you!" Vince shouted from the couch. "I was wondering when you were going to get up." She gave a soft smile to him as she moved into the living room area. She could hear Mia talking in the kitchen. "You want to go down to the garage with me later on? I wanted to show you something."

"Sure. What is it?" She finally found the nerve to speak. He didn't respond as Dom came up behind wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up. "Put me down!" She shouted with a laugh. "I'll come!" She squirmed in his arms as Tony came through the front door with bags in his hands. "What's going on?" Dom set her back down on to the floor. "Why are we going to the garage so early?"

"Vince has been working on something and he wants to show you." Tony stated. "You should go."

"How long is it going to take?" She looked over at Vince. "I just told my friend Maggie from school that I would hang out with her tonight."

"Maggie?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I met her on Thursday. She ate lunch with me. She asked if I wanted to go to her house for dinner and to watch a movie. Is that okay?" There was silence. "I mean…"

"I don't see any problem with it. As long as you are back by your curfew." Dangit. She wanted to kick herself. Her curfew was ten thirty on weekends. She would make it work as she nodded her head. "Do I get this to meet this Maggie?"

"I can tell her to come by the garage today if you would like to meet her."

"Yes, do that. I'm so glad you are making friends at school, Stel." Tony moved passed her to go into the kitchen. She breathed a sigh of relief. She did it. She him half the truth. The only thing was getting home at ten thirty. She knew the party wouldn't start until nine-ish, so that would give her a hour and a half to hang out and get home. "I'll go give her a call then." She turned to Vince. "You driving?" He nodded his head as she moved into the kitchen where Mia was still sitting at the table. "Hey." She replied softly. She grabbed the phone from the wall and dialed Maggie's number. "Hey, is Maggie there?" She waited. "Hey! It's Stella. My dad wants to know if you can come by the garage later on today and say hey." Stella laughed nervously. Would she think that was dumb? "Great! I am headed there now, so whenever you want to come you can…oh yeah, he said it was okay for me to come over." Stella giggled. "Okay, bye." She hung the phone before turning towards her sister. "You coming to the garage today?"

"Yeah, I was going to come with you guys." Mia stood up from the table. "Is it okay if Letty comes?"

"I don't care. I don't even know why we are going." Stella shrugged her shoulders. "Well I am going to go get dressed. I'll see you down here." She moved quickly out of the room and up the stairs to get ready. Her hands were shaking as she shut the door behind her. She was one step closer to going to Johnny's party.

* * *

Maggie and Stella began giggling as they stood in the doorway of the office. "So you'll be at my house by eight then?" Stella nodded her head. "You can wear something of mine. We can eat dinner at my place and then head over there..."

"Excuse me." Vince was standing behind Stella as Stella's heart stopped beating. "Can you move, Stel? I need to get in here." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in as she moved to the side to let him pass. Maggie began to laugh as she patted Stella on the arm. "I'll see you later on tonight, Stella. Don't forget, eight o'clock." Stella nodded her head as she waved her friend good.

"I like that." Vince replied as he rummaged through the filing cabinet.

"What?" Stella asked.

"That you found yourself a friend. And you are smiling again. Like your normal self." Stella rolled her eyes before leaving the office. "Don't go anywhere, I need to show you something!" He yelled after her. She stopped in her tracks and looked over at the bright blue car that just pulled into the garage. They weren't open today, so what was it? Why was it here? She could hear Vince chuckle behind her as Dom emerged from the car. "What is this?" Stella asked walking over to it. The blue shined bright as the sun hit it just perfectly.

"She's mine." Vince replied behind her. "And you are going to help me fix her up." Stella smiled. "Come on, Stel. It would be so much fun. We can rebuild the entire thing. You can put some sick decals on it." She shook her head. "What you are too good for us now because you have friends?" She slapped him in the stomach. "Just a few times. If you don't like it, I will leave you alone."'

"Fine." Vince slapped his together as he let out a loud yell that echoed through the entire garage. "Alright, let me grab some things and we can take a look at it." She looked over at Mia who had a smile plastered on her face. She knew she would be happy she was back in the game. But was she? Did she really want to do all this again? All she knew was she a freshmen invited to a juniors party and she was dying to get ready.

* * *

Stella grabbed her bag from the closet door and put it over her shoulder as she moved to door hoping the fear that was inside her wasn't showing itself to anyone else. She hurried down the stairs where Dom was waiting on her to drive her over to Maggie's. "You ready to go?" Stella nodded her head knowing her voice would betray her. "Bye!" She shouted hoping everyone heard her. She hurried out the door so no one could stop her and ask questions. She moved down the steps as Dom chuckled behind her. "Slow down!" She opened the passenger side door to his Honda and rolled down the windows. It was still summer outside and she loved it. She wished it would stay this way forever. "Are you excited?" He climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. "You look nice. What exactly are guys doing?"

"Her parents invited me over for dinner and then we are going to watch a movie."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come pick you up?"

"I'm sure. Her parents said they would drop me off." That was the third lie she had told today. Would she be able to keep this up? She put her hand out the window as Dom finally put the car into drive. Maggie only lived a few blocks away. If she really wanted to, she could have walked but Dom was so adamant to drive her. She was grateful for him. She really was. Sometimes she wished he would just let her live her own life, but there were times like these that she truly loved having him in her life. The car came to a stop as she looked up at the dark blue house. It was bigger than hers. The yard was bigger. She gave a smile to her brother as she reached for the door handle. "Have fun!" She nodded her head as she exited the car and hurried up the long driveway to her front door. Maggie was already waiting with the door opened as Stella hurried inside. "Did you have any trouble?"

"No. No questions were asked." Stella blew out a breath. "Your house is huge!"

"It's alright." Maggie laughed. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time. We need to get ready." They hurried up the stairs to Maggie's room.

* * *

Cars were lining the street as Maggie's older sister dropped them off at Johnny's house. Stella didn't speak the entire ride to his house. She was so nervous. Her hands were shaking. Her entire body was shaking as she reached for the door handle. "I'll be back here at ten fifteen. Don't be late. I don't want Dominic Toretto to be down my back." Stella laughed as she nodded her head. She slammed the door behind her as Maggie held out her hand. The girls giggled as they walked up the long drive way to Johnny's house. It was most glass and it sat up on a hill. It was huge. She had never seen anything like it. When she was younger. Like nine or ten, her dad would drive around California to look at all the big houses. Stella would find herself imagining living in those houses. What would it be like to be rich and to have everyone serve you? She sighed as they hurried up to the door where Johnny was waiting. "Hey!" He shouted wrapping his arms around Stella's body and lifting her in the air. "You guys made it!" He set her down on the floor as she slowly moved into the house looking at the amazing floorplan. "How did you pull it off?" He asked ushering them more inside. "Does your dad know you are here?"

"No." Stella replied. "And I would like to keep it that way. We can't stay long. I have a curfew." Johnny nodded his head. "Sorry, I just…"

"No, don't apologize. I'm just glad you made it." He smiled down at her. She didn't realize how much taller he was than her. "Are you guys thirsty? You want something to drink?"

Stella nodded her head as she looked back Maggie who was squeezing her hand. This was actually happening. They were at a party that Johnny Tran had invited them too. They stayed behind Johnny as they walked through the tons of people standing in the hallway. The house opened up into the living room where more people were standing and sitting. The music was loud. She overcoming her fear as Johnny handed her a red solo cup. She didn't know what it was it. "It's water." He replied with a smirk. She nodded her head as she took a sip. He was right. Was she a loser? She wanted to kick herself for being so stupid. To be honest, Maggie and Johnny were her only two friends outside of her family. She really didn't hang out with anyone else. "Do you want to go outside?" Johnny knocked her out of her thoughts as she looked over at Maggie who wasn't there anymore. "She just told you she was going to go say hey to someone." The fear was back. She was alone with him. "Hey, are you good? Do you need something?"

"I'm just nervous." She blurted out as she quickly covered her mouth. "No, I'm good." Johnny put his hand on top of hers and squeezed. "This is my first time being away from anyone from my family. I've never been to a party before. I don't know what I am doing and I don't think I can pretend."

"You never have to pretend with me, Stella." He didn't let go of her hand as he grabbed himself bottle before pulling her towards the glass door. "JT, where you going?" A guy shouted from across the room. Johnny held his free hand up in the air pointing to the outside. "Who is she?" Stella tightened her grip onto her cup as she heard the girls whispering about her as she walked past. "Don't mind them." Johnny whispered into her ear. "You are safe here." She nodded her head as they walked outside. A soft breeze had come as she listened to the music outside. It wasn't same as the inside. The pool was glowing with so many floats in it. The same amount people that were inside were outside. She couldn't help but laugh. She didn't imagine this at all. "What are you laughing at?" His smile was beautiful as he looked back at her. She shook her head as he finally released her hand and sat down on the bench by the pool. "I'm really glad you decided to come. I know that you aren't supposed to be talking to me."

"You have a beautiful smile." Stella immediately closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. "I just…" She stopped talking as Johnny began to laugh. "So, this is your house?"

"Yes." He laughed again. "Stella…" He ran his hand down the side of her face. "Relax. It's just you and me." She nodded her head as she looked around again. "I throw these when my parents are away which is often. They don't care. The house is so far away from everything, it doesn't really bother anyone. And people are..."

"Scared of your father?" He nodded his head. "Why am I here, Johnny? I'm a freshmen and you are a junior. It doesn't make sense." He let out a chuckle as he ran his hands over his hair. "I just want to know why me?"

"Why not?" He whispered. "I don't know...I just ran into you during orientation and I just couldn't take my eyes off of you. You are beautiful. You make me smile…."

"We've only known each for a couple of days now. You know that my family doesn't…I'm only fourteen." Her words were getting jumbled up. "There are way better girls out there that would love to be with you."

"Stella…" He cupped her face in his hands. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You know where I stand."

"Stella!" Maggie shouted from the balcony of the house. "My sister in here. It's ten twenty."

"Oh shit!" Stella shot up moving thru people and hurried into the house. Maggie met her at the bottom of the stairs grabbing her hand as the two sprinted outside to the street. She had ten minutes to get home. It was going to take ten minutes to get to her house. Her hands started shaking again as they climbed into the car. Was she caught? Was she being stupid? What if this was a joke? "Holy crap, Stella!" Maggie shouted knocking Stella from her thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be out there with him for so long." Stella finally realized that she didn't hang out with Maggie at all. "I'm a horrible friend."

"No!" Maggie laughed. "You were hanging out with Johnny Tran. He was holding your hand and your face…" Stella couldn't help but laugh. She was correct. He was touching her. He was being sweet. She ran her hands over her face as she took in a deep breath. "He likes you, Stel."

"My dad would kill me." There wasn't much time to talk anymore as the car stopped in front of her house. She squeezed Maggie's hand before opening the door. "Thank you so much!"

"I'll see you Monday!" Stella nodded her head as she closed the door and hurried up the steps to the front door. She took a deep breath in before opening the door. She didn't know what time it was. She slowly shut the door behind her as she noticed the lights were off. "Did you have fun?" Dom's deep voice sounded from the couch where he put down the magazine. His face was stern as she nodded her head. "How late am I?" She whispered.

"It's…" He looked at his watch. "Ten thirty two." A relief ran through her entire body as she threw the pillow at him. "I didn't realize what time it was."

"How was the movie?" Dom asked.

"It was good. We just talked a lot. Maggie is really nice." She heard footsteps behind her as she quickly looked up. "Where is Pops at?"

"The diner. He was just closing up. We have an audit coming up." Mia replied. Stella nodded her head. "You want to sleep in my room tonight?" Stella was silent. "We haven't hung out in so long."

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Stella looked over at Dom. "Thanks for waiting up on me." She followed Mia up the stairs as she relived the few hours she had just spent with Johnny Tran. She had gone to party and spent the entire time with the person who threw it. She wondered what Monday would hold for her? Would her family find out? Would she be the talk of the school?

 **AN: Let me know what you guys think! I am going to do the next Monday at school and then skip a couple of years ahead!**


	9. You're Leaving

2 Year later...

Stella threw her book bag on the bed as she quickly removed her books and began working on her homework for the day. "Hey, I thought you were coming to the garage?" Vince popped his head into her room.

"Homework." She replied as she blew a bubble with the gun that was in her mouth. She looked back down at her books as she tried to remember how to the math problems they were taught in school. She was tired of school. She just wanted it to be summer again. But that meant she might be leaving. She sighed as she noticed Vince was still in the doorway. "What?"

"We hired two new mechanics. I think you might like them. One is…well he's kind of slow but can detail a car with his eyes closed."

"Good for him, Vince." She looked back down at the paper. It wasn't his fault. I mean…she blamed him. She blamed everyone. She had been dating Johnny since the second semester of her freshmen year. They had been inseparable and the lying was becoming normal to her. Her family didn't find out until last summer. And then it blew up. All the lying and sneaking around came to a head and she found herself yet again grounded with the threat of being sent to Uncle's house in Florida. "I'm not going to the garage, Vince. I don't care about the garage right now."

"Listen…" He walked into her room shutting the door behind him. "You have to understand what is going on. You have been lying to everyone in this house for years. You've been sneaking around with Johnny Tran for that same amount of time. Lord only knows what you two have been doing." She gave him the side eye. "Stel, this isn't like you at all. Your dad doesn't know what to do anymore. He doesn't know when you are telling the truth and when you aren't. You have been defying everything he tells you. I know he doesn't want to send you away but it's like…"

"I have homework." She replied. "School is almost over and then I'll be gone from here. But until then I would like to keep my grades up so I don't go to some stupid school where I get to be the stupid one by being held back a grade. Please leave." How did they find out, you ask? It was the summer before. Maggie had invited her over to lay out by the pool which wasn't a lie. She did go to her house and they did stay by the pool for a while when Lucas, JT's best friend called to see if they wanted to go to the beach for the rest of the day. It didn't seen harmful but Stella also didn't tell her father where she was going. They spent all day into the night down there. She didn't see any harm in it. But Tony also didn't know where she was. Dom had come to pick her up from Maggie's and she wasn't there. It had gotten late into the night and Stella didn't realize until they arrived back at Maggie's house with her on the back of Johnny's crotch rocket. Tony, Vince, Dom, and two police officers were waiting in the driveway with Maggie's parents. Stella had never been so embarrassed in her life. Tony jerked her from the back of the motorcycle before Stella could even react. She had been grounded ever since. Johnny had graduated from school and was working for his dad. She was to go to school and then work at diner or the garage. That was a few weeks ago. Now it was coming up on April and school was almost over. She didn't know how she felt yet about being sent away. She would be away from Johnny for a long time. She loved him. She was sure he loved her too but she would sent away from another year and a lot can change in a year. She sighed as she slammed her book closed. She wanted to see him. She wanted all of this to go away. "Can you just leave please? I don't know what else you want me to say. I don't want to work on cars with you. I don't want to meet your new friends. I don't care that Dom and Letty are seeing each other. I don't care about any of it. Let me get through this next month and then I will be out of your hair and everyone elses."

"I don't want that!" Vince shouted. "Can you not see that?" He sat down on the bed grabbing her hands in his. "Stella, there is something seriously going on with you if you don't see what you have been doing is wrong. You are sixteen years old. You have been sneaking around with a boy who is three years older than you. You show up at eleven o'clock at night on the back of a motorcycle. And when you were asked how long this has been going on…you are walking on this dangerous line and your dad doesn't know what to do."

"I'm not doing drugs. I'm not having sex. I not even failing any of my classes. I am dating a boy that I was told not to date. People do it all the time."

"You lied."

"You and Dom used to sneak around all the time. It's because I am the youngest that you all think that you can treat me like I'm a toddler. I'm not. I'm not going to break or go off the deep end. I began seeing Johnny long after me and him met. I fell for him. He makes me feel special. He doesn't hurt me or anything like you think. Ya'll think he is some monster because of who is father is. He has never hurt me. He hasn't hardly raised his voice at me."

"You are still so young, Stel."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I am leaving so you all won. I'll be gone and you don't have to worry about me being on your stupid team anymore or Johnny Tran." The tears threatened her eyes. "I am grounded. The last time I checked, I get maximum security around here. So you should leave." She wiped her face of the fallen tears.

"I hate seeing you so broken. It breaks my heart."

"I really doubt that."

* * *

Stella shut the door to her locker and sighed as she clung tightly onto the notebook in her hand. It was the last day of school and everyone was so excited…except her. She wished for it to be longer. She wished they could go all year. That way…she wouldn't be bound for Florida in a couple of weeks. "Stella!" Maggie shouted as she quickly turned around. "Come with me! I have to show you something."

"Hey, Stel!" Lucas smiled bringing her into his arms.

"Lucas, what are you doing here?" Stella laughed. "Didn't you graduate?"

"Oh you know, had to come roam these halls again. Besides, I wanted to see you before you shipped off." Maggie elbowed him in the stomach. "Ouch!"

"Listen, Stel. I'll be down there to see as often as my parents will buy me a plane ticket." Maggie replied. "I'm not leaving for another two weeks, you know." Stella smirked. They moved down the hallway towards the back of the school when she finally stopped. "What is happening? Why are you here forreal?"

Lucas pointed behind her as a smile spread across his face. Stella quickly turned around as Johnny was walking into the school. She dropped the notebook in her hand and took off running towards him jumping straight into his arms. For just a moment her world was alright. She leaned back planting her lips on top of his and kissing him. Even after two years, she still got butterflies when she saw him. She kept her arms wrapped around him as her feet touched the floor again. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to come see you. You know I can't let you go without saying goodbye." Her heart broke. When would she see him again? She laid her head into his chest and sighed. "This isn't over, Stel." She shook her head. It was over. It had to be over. She was going all the way across the United States to live with the uncle of her mother who her father hated.

"I should go. Dom is probably outside waiting for me." She replied softly. She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed him. "I love you." Tears sprung to her eyes as she squeezed them closed. "I think I always will."

"Meet me tonight. Try to get away." She nodded her head. "We don't have to say goodbye just yet." She let go of his hands before turning to walk away. The tears fell down her face as she forced herself not to turn around and run back to him. This was the hardest part. They were tearing her away from the boy that she loved. How was that fair? She pushed opened the double doors of the school as the sun blinded her for a second. "Stella!" She heard Dom's voice as she turned in his direction. Mia and Letty were waiting by the car for her. She quickly wiped her face of the fallen tears before walking over to them. "I was wondering where you were."

"I was saying goodbye to Maggie." She mumbled climbing into the front seat of the car. She quickly buckled up before looking out the window as Maggie and Lucas stood at the top of the stairs. She waved at them with so much sorrow in her eyes. Was it going to be forever? Could she change the outcome? She sighed as Dom put the car in drive and pulled forward. "Are you okay?" Dom asked. "Your face is all red."

"I just had to say goodbye to my best friend." She replied. "Can we not talk about this?" She let out a breath as she stuck her hand outside the window.

"I've been talking to Pops. I've been trying to convince him to let you stay. It's taking some time but I think it's working." She shook her head. "I need some help here, Stel. I need to start talking...begging. Doing something to make you stay here. I don't want you to go to Florida. It's too far away."

"And if I stay...what happens with Johnny?"

Dom sighed slamming his hand into the steering wheel. "Why can't you just let him go?"

"Because he's my boyfriend and I love him." She turned her entire body towards him. "Is that the agreement you have huh? You want me to break up with him and then I get to stay here? Or do you want me to say that I broke up with him but still see him? Because that is what is going to happen. He loves me, Dom. Isn't that what matters? After all this time he has never done anything to hurt me because he loves me. That's more than I can say for you."

"Hey!" Dom shouted. "I've been trying to protect you this whole time."

"Protecting me from what?"

"Come on, dude!" Letty shouted in the back. "Just leave it alone."

"No! I want to know what exactly you are protecting me from? You say that his father is a dangerous man. _That_ is his father. He is nothing like his father. He has never given me a reason to be afraid of him. You aren't protecting me, Dom. You are hindering me. I don't want to leave. But I will not break it off with Johnny and if that's what's going to keep me here then I'll go. I will not be bullied into anything." The car came to stop in front of the house. She reached for the door handle as Dom grabbed her hand. "What? What do you want from me, Dom? You win either way. I stay I have to break up with him. I go, and it's over. He's made up his mind. Just let it go."

"You are my baby sister, I can't just let it go."

"Maybe I will be good for me." She wiped her face as she shrugged her shoulders. "I just want to be free."

* * *

Dinner was awkward as usual. Stella leaned forward in her chair as she leaned over her plate and ate her food in silence. "So how was everyone's day today? Last day of school, I'm sure that was exciting." Stella didn't respond as she rolled her eyes. "Mia and Letty are graduating this weekend. I can't believe it. Stella, you are going to be a Senior." Stella gave a soft smile nodding her head.

"Can I be excused?" She put her fork her plate. "I've finished my dinner and I would like to go start packing." There was silence as Tony wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"No. We are eating as a family and we can all finish as a family." Stella crossed her arms over her chest. "Now how was your day today?"

"It was great. I got to say goodbye to my best friend who think it's her fault that I am being sent away."

"Pops, we need to go get ready." Dom replied. "You should come with us, Stel."

"I'm grounded." Was everyone not present to the screaming match that happened just a few weeks ago? Speaking of racing….they were now allowed to race. With Dom and Vince being old enough to do pretty much anything now, Tony let them race under his supervision. With Letty getting a new car for her birthday, she was dying to show it off.

"I was going to let it be a surprise but you are more than welcome to come tonight." Tony replied.

"I'll pass." Stella grabbed her plate and moved to the sink.

"You kids go ahead and go get ready. Let me talk to Stella for a little bit." Stella sighed as she slowly turned back to the table. "Sit down, please." She moved over to the table and sat back down in her seat.

"I've been talking to Dom a lot about you. He thinks I should give you another chance and let you stay."

"I've talked to him as well."

"I don't want to send you away, Stella. You are giving me no choice. You have been crossing a very dangerous line."

"What line is that? Johnny?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why is that a dangerous line? You can never tell me."

"You just don't know what his father does. How he makes his money."

"That is not Johnny. Johnny works in a garage just like we do."

"And you believe him."

"He has never given me any reason to not believe him. He loves me, daddy. You might think that he is this monster but he's not. He's never hit me. He doesn't even yell."

"You will not be with him when you are living under my roof." Stella's face fell. "That is final. It's your decision."

"Is it though?" She whispered. "I lose either way." She stood up from the table wiping down her pants. "I love you." She squeezed her eyes shuts. "But I don't want to be here with you anymore."

"Stel…"

"I'll go to Florida. I'll spend my summer there." She moved into the living room where Mia and Dom were sitting. "You win, Dominic."

* * *

She heard the commotion downstairs as everyone was getting ready to leave for the race. She sat on her bed staring towards the window when he bedroom door opened. "We are leaving." Dom replied.

"Have fun." She didn't even bother looking at him. She knew he had more to say but he didn't. Instead he closed her door. She sighed throwing herself onto the bed. "Why me?" She groaned. She heard the door close downstairs hoping everyone had left. She waited though. She didn't want to get caught hurrying down the stairs to go call Johnny. She watched as the fan began going round and round until her eyes hurt. She sighed as she lifted herself up from the bed and walked to the window. It was dark out. The sun had finally gone down. And there wasn't a soul on the street. She smiled as she hurried from her room and down the stairs to the phone. She quickly dialed his number hoping he would answer. "Johnny!" She squealed. "I'll meet you in my driveway. We don't have long. I'm sure the race is over at midnight." She nodded her head before hanging up the phone. She hurried to the door making sure it was locked before heading outside. She looked under the rock that sat at the bottom of the stairs to make sure the key was still there. She saw the headlights pull into her driveway as she hurried over to the car and climbed in. She jumped over into Johnny's lap immediately locking her lips with his. "My house is empty." She replied.

"I will be dead if your dad comes home early." Stella laughed before nodding her head. "We can go to mine."

"Okay!" She climbed back into the passenger side and grabbed her seatbelt. He put the car in reverse before immediately putting his hand on her leg. Would he beg her to stay? What would they do if she did stay? They would to have sneak around. Could they do it? She pressed her lips together as she looked over him. "I love you." She whispered. He squeezed her leg letting her know he heard her. Johnny's car pulled in Little Saigon. The houses were huge. She remembered when she was fourteen the first time she had come to his house. It seemed to have gotten bigger as she got older. The car came to a stop in front of the two pillars that stood as tall as the house. She climbed out as Johnny quickly moved to her side grabbing her hand. He pushed her back against the car, cupping the bottom of her chin, and pulling her close. His lips touched hers as they continued to stare at each other. She was still a virgin. It's hard to believe because she was dating Johnny Tran. The ladies' man people would call him but he wasn't like that with her. He never forced her to do anything she didn't want to do. He was patient. They fooled around every once in a while but it was mostly just making out. She had gotten good at that. But tonight was different. It was like she had to get all of him before it was too late. She felt his hands moved to her butt as he picked her up and pressed her against the car. She squeezed her legs around him as his tongue invaded her mouth. "Whoa!" Johnny pulled away.

"Johnny…" She whispered. "I want this. I want you."

"Stel, I don't want you to do this because it's getting back at your dad."

"My dad will know nothing of this. I want you because I love you and I don't want to leave you without showing you how much I love you." There was a pause she nodded her head again. He pressed his lips to hers, softly kissing her.

Her feet never touched the floor as Johnny carried her up the stairs to his room. It was open. Just a single king sized bed covered the floor. Clothes were hung up neatly in his closet. The window was open as the cool breeze blew into the room. He laid her down onto the bed as he leaned up removing his button down shirt from his body. She ran her hands down his stomach as he pulled on her arms to lift her up. She removed her shirt from her body before he leaned down kissing her again. This was happening. It was pure bliss. It was everything she had ever wanted. He was gentle. It never hurt. It was as perfect as it could be. He wrapped his arms around her naked body bringing her closer to him and kissing her lightly on the shoulder. "You okay?" He whispered into her ear. She nodded her head as she leaned back kissing him lightly on the lips. "I love you." He whispered. "You make me so happy."

"I love you." She squeezed his arm as he tightened it more around her. She felt safe with him. She was never afraid. When they were together nothing else in the world mattered. She sighed as she closed her eyes knowing this moment was going to come to an end. She had to get home before her dad or they were both dead.

 **AN: Soooo Stella does get sent away. But I wanted to get you guys opinion. Do you like stories following the movies or do you like stories that go with their own thing? I will definitely have the characters from the movies in my stories and the movies will definitely happen but I also kind of wanted to do my own thing! Let me know what you think! REVIEW!**


	10. Goodbye CaliforniaHello Florida

And just like that, she was gone. She stood in the middle of the airport wondering how the hell her life got to this. She was sixteen years old and she was being shipping to the other side of the United States. She had been sneaking out to see Johnny Tran since she was fourteen years old. But she seemed to be the only one who got in trouble for anything. The night after she lost her virginity to Johnny she had arrived home just in time. Her dad had arrived about ten minutes after she did. His face was as white as could be as Dom carried Letty into the living room. Vince wasn't too far behind him with Mia in his arms. She had screamed wondering what happened. Letty had beat this guy Amarillo in the race that night and he wasn't too happy about it. As the cops came to break up the race, Mia and Letty took off in her Ford Torino Cobra. They were running from the cops and Amarillo. Why the hell their dad let them go to Boyle Heights was beyond her but he did and the night ended in shit. Letty found herself blocked by Amarillo and his goons. Dom wasn't too far behind but Letty knew she had to do something quick. Without thinking she floored it and running straight into a retaining wall. Water went everywhere as she pressed the gas to get through. When Vince and Dom brought them into the house, they were soaking wet and Letty had a piece of wood sticking out of her arm. The only thing that kept Stella from freaking out was Letty was laughing. What went through her mind to run her brand new car into a retaining wall will forever be a question Stella had. There was no hospital involved. They didn't want that. The cops showed up and they could all get into trouble. But no trouble happened at the house. I guess getting hurt is enough punishment but for Stella, she was gone. She didn't want to sit down as she looked at the rest of her family sitting around waiting for her plane. Why where there? She was angry. And she was getting angrier as the minutes went on. What was taking so long? She just wanted to go. "Will you sit down with me?" Her father asked. She shook her head. She was mad at him. She hadn't seen Johnny since that night. And no one ever found out about it. And if they did, nothing was said. "Stella, please." She gave in as she walked over to him and sat down next to him. "This isn't your brother or your sisters fault. This was my decision. You will be back before you know it."

"Then why am I leaving if this isn't forever?"

"When was the first time that you snuck out of my house to go see that boy?" Stella shook her head. "This will not change my decision, Stella. I believe this is for your own good. I just want to know." The tears sprung to her eyes. "Tell me…"

"I was fourteen." She covered her face. "Johnny had invited me and Maggie to a party at his house. I didn't do anything though. Me and him just sat and talked until it was time to go home. It became easier after that because all of your focus went on Dom and the team. "

"You were fourteen years old and sneaking out of the house. How can you not see how bad that sounds?"

"I wanted out." She replied. "I didn't feel like some child when I was with him. Every time I was around here I just felt like I was being protected for even breathing. It was suffocating me. _You_ were suffocating me." The tears fell down her face. "I just wanted to be able to live my life for once. He's not a bad person. And part of me wanted him to be so I could get back at you…I don't know why. You made me so angry." She wiped her face. "I got in trouble for everything. I looked at the wall a certain way I was grounded. Mia and Letty run from the cops and run into a retaining wall and all they get is a 'be careful next time'. Are you serious? I get grounded for life because I _knew_ of a race that almost caused Dom to lose his arm. Nothing happened to anyone else. Admit that you picked on me because I am the youngest."

"It wasn't picking on you. You were too young to be involved and I thought if I kept you from it then nothing bad would happen to you. I never expected this. I never _wanted_ this."

"You were protecting me from something we have in our blood to do. You kept me from really being a part of this family."

 _"_ _We are now boarding flight 180 to Orlando Florida_." The woman's voice sounded throughout the entire airport as Stella wiped underneath her eyes before standing up. "I love you." She replied wrapping her arms around his waist. Tony squeezed her body as she tried to fight the urge to scream…beg him not to let her go. He finally released her as she looked over at Vince who was waiting his turn to say goodbye.

"This isn't goodbye forever." He replied softly. "It's only for a little while."

"Sure." She replied softly wrapping her arms around his body. "I love you, V."

"Love you too." He released her as she took in a deep breath and walked over to her sister. This was someone who used to be her best friend but now it was like they strangers. She threw her arms around her sisters neck just as the tears flowed down her cheeks. She didn't hate her. She didn't hate Letty either. Things were just different. And it was Stella's fault. She made herself distant from everyone. She ruined the relationships. "Stel…" Mia cried. "I love you so much."

"I love you too!" The girls bodies shook as they cried together. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"We will write, okay." Mia pulled away wiping the tears from Stella's face. "We will talk every day." Stella nodded her head. It was Dom's turn. He was standing at the window with his hands in his pockets. She placed her hand on his back as he slowly turned around. "I know that I was hard on you about Johnny." He replied. "I want you to have the best life. I want you to get everything out of life." She nodded her head. "You are my baby sister and you deserve the best."

"I know." She whispered. "I love you, Dom."

"Be good, okay." He jerked her forward. "Stay out of trouble." She nodded her head. "I love you. I love you so much." Was he crying? She couldn't tell. "You have a few more minutes before you have to board…" He released her. "Go say goodbye." She was confused at first.

"Stel…" Johnny was standing a few feet away from her as she looked up at Dom who nodded his head. "I just…"

"Johnny!" She shouted as she ran towards him jumping straight into his arms. "Johnny." She whispered. She could have stayed that way for forever. She could feel his breath in her ear. "I love you, Stella." He replied. "I will always love you."

* * *

Her hands shook as she stepped off the plane into the hot, humid Florida air. She could feel the stickiness on her skin as she pulled her sunglasses down.

This wasn't California. This was nothing like California. She heard someone clear their throat as she looked up at them with a disgusted look on her face. She definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore. She moved forward holding tight to her bag as she walked through the terminal. She looked around at all the people as she looked for someone who resembled her Uncle. She hadn't seen him in years. Her mom died and he dropped off the face of the earth. "Stella!" She heard her name being shouted as she quickly turned around. Uncle Sal was his name. He was big, bulky, with a bald head. Stella couldn't help but chuckle. Dom was the spitting image of him. He was her mom's brother though and Tony never liked him which is why Stella was so surprised that he was okay with her coming here. She set her bag down on the floor before running straight in the man's arms. "Hi!" He chuckled returning the hug. "It's good to see you, Mija." He kissed her on top of the head. "Stella, this is Jamison. He works for me. I thought we might need some help with you bags so I brought back up." Stella began to laugh.

"Hi." She replied with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. I've heard a lot about you."

"Well come on, I have dinner cooking in the crockpot." Sal put his arm around her shoulder as she watched Jamison grab her bag from the floor.

"You cook?" She asked turning her attention back to her uncle. Sal laughed as she looked behind her again. "Who is he? Pops didn't tell me that you had any help."

"I didn't want him to." Sal stopped. "We can talk about it when we get to the house. We have a little drive and I know you are probably tired." She didn't push it as she watched him walk to the car as she stayed behind.

"I can help you." She replied walking over to him grabbing some bags from his arm. She had brought her entire closet with her. She didn't know what to bring. She heard of the summers and winters on the east coast. It was unpredictable. "How are you?"

"Eighteen." Jamison spoke. His voice was deep and covered in a southern accent. She wanted to laugh but she held it in. "You?"

"Sixteen. I'll be seventeen in about two months." She continued to look at him as he put the bags in the trunk of the car. He has sandy blonde hair that hung in front of his face every chance it got. His skin was tan, like an olive color. She could smell the salt on his skin if she got close enough. His eyes were green, like piercing almost. It was like he could see straight through her. "Thank you." She replied. "For…helping I guess."

"It's no problem." He replied shutting the trunk. "Shall we?" She nodded her head as she followed him over to the side of the car where he opened the car door. She was over it. Why was he being so nice? She climbed into the car. "He can stop that." She replied looking over at Sal. "It's annoying already."

"He's a southern gentleman. It's what they do." Stella shook her head as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

Stella looked out the window most of the drive to the house. There were cares everywhere. It was bumper to bumper traffic. "Are we near Disneyworld?" She asked with a smile.

"It's about forty miles away." Sal smirked. "Maybe we can go soon."

"I would love that." She squealed. She returned to looking out the window. The sun was shining so bright in the sky without a cloud around it. "I'm sure your dad has probably called already to see if you made it." Her head slowly turned to look at him. "I know this isn't a place you want to be. Me and him agree on something at least. What you were doing was dangerous and irresponsible. I know you are mad at him."

"I'm not mad." She replied. "I'm just…" She stopped herself.

"You aren't going to be on a tight leash here. I know just about everyone on this side of town. They will let me know if you get into any trouble. As punishment, you will be working at the garage with me. This is your street racers that come to get their cars worked on. This is everyday people who need their oil changed, tires rotated, stuff like that. You will not get a car until I say you can have one. I am easy going here, Stella. But don't piss me off."

"I just wanted to be able to live my life, Uncle Sal. I didn't mean to step on anyone's feet. I was just…too young to breathe. It's hard living there."

"I know what it must be like. I was the youngest to you know." She bit the inside of her cheek. "Anyways…everything will be okay once you get settled in here. You will make friends in no time." She nodded her head before looking back out the window. She missed home already. She took in a deep breath and held it as she fought to keep the tears from escaping her eyes. She had to be strong now. She got herself into this. She leaned in to the window letting the cold touch her forehead before closing her eyes. It was still morning in California but she wondered what they were doing. The tears fell down her face as she quickly wiped them away. It was already a long day and she was ready for it to be over with.

* * *

Stella felt the softness of a pillow under her face as she slowly opened her eyes and peered towards the door. Where was she? She quickly shot up. The room was small. The house looked like it was made of wood. Her room was wood. Everything in the room was wood. She sighed as she threw her legs over the side of the bed and walked to the door but she stopped. There hanging on the wall was a picture. It looked old. It was her mother. She could see her even though she looked so young. There was soft knock on the door as she jumped. "Mija?" Sal was standing at the door.

"You can come in." Stella replied as she continued to stare at the picture. "She was beautiful."

"You look exactly like her. She was sixteen in that picture." Sal held the phone in his hand. "Your dad called. I told him you were sleeping and you would give him a call back." Stella shook her head. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, Stel. I would be angry too if I were you."

"He sent me away." She replied softly. "I'll call him tomorrow." She went and sat back down on the bed and sighed. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Well the sun has gone down for the day." Sal chuckled. "I figured you were exhausted with everything going on. I wanted to let you sleep. I have food ready for you if you are hungry. Jamison went ahead and took off."

"Speaking of Jamison…what is his purpose here?"

Sal sighed. "Tell me." She stood up.

"About six months ago, I had a heart attack. It wasn't…"

"Pops never told me!" Stella shouted. "I didn't know anything about this."

"Stella, your father doesn't have anything to do with me. I don't even think he knew. Once your mom died…I just…" He couldn't find the words.

"You are still my family, Sal. I would have liked to have known. I'm sorry that we never see each other. I'm sorry it took me getting into all this trouble just for us to be together."

"Oh sweetheart, none of this is your fault. Your father was doing what he thought was best."

"He does that a lot."

Sal put his hand on her shoulder. "Stella, your father is a good man. We just don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. He is a great father to you and your sister and brother." Stella nodded her head. "Please forgive me for not telling you."

"Sal, is this serious? Do you need someone to come look after you?"

"No." Sal replied softly. "Jamison works for me at the garage. He doesn't have a father figure. I kind of ended up being that for him. He looks after me because he wants to. I am healthy as a horse right now."

Stella nodded her head. "This isn't what I wanted your first night to look like."

"It's okay, Uncle Sal. We have a long time to get this right." Sal began to laugh. "Let's go see what you made in this crockpot of yours."

* * *

Stella kicked her feet into the sand as she plopped down on her butt. Sal had convinced her to get out of the house and go down to the beach. She now regretted it. It reminded her of home. She had only been there a week but it felt like eternity. She hadn't spoken to anyone from her family yet. Every time she gets up the courage, she gets angry and just wanted to scream at them. Sal thought it would be best to give it time. She looked out into the ocean. It was different looking. The sand wasn't as white as California. The water wasn't as blue as California. "Hey!" Jamison was standing beside her as she jumped. "I've been calling your name."

"I'm sorry." She replied as her face turned red from embarrassment. "I was just thinking…"

"I was going to go down to the pier, would you like to come?"

"I mean…I guess I can." Jamison nodded his head as he rolled his eyes.

"We are going now." She drew in a breath as she lifted herself up knocking all the sand off of her body. He started walking ahead of her as she hurried to catch up with him. "So, how long have you known Sal?"

"Five years." He stared straight ahead. He wasn't very friendly. He wouldn't even look her in the eye.

"Thank you for taking care of him."

"I'm all that he has, of course I would." She pressed her lips together stopping her in her tracks. He didn't stop as he climbed up the hill of sand to the top of the pier. "Let's go!" He called after her. She began climbing as he held his hand down to help her up. "Just stick by me. This place is going to be packed."

She nodded her head as rubbed her hands on her pants again to get the sand off. She could hear the music coming from inside as they rounded the corner where a line was forming to get in. "Wow." She replied.

"This is where most of the locals hang out. You have your tourists that come but they usually don't get in."

"Why not?"

"Because, this is our place. They can't just take over the whole fucking state." Stella nodded her. "Like I said, just stick by me." He grabbed her hand in his as the pair walked up the steps.

"Yo, Jamie, my man!" The man taking the money slapped hands. "She with you?"

"Griffin, this is Stella Toretto. She is Sal's niece and will be staying with him for the summer. I thought I would show her around a bit."

"Aight, I see you. Welcome, Stella Toretto." Stella couldn't help but smile as she walked past him. Jamison's attitude seemed to have changed the moment he got around his friends. He was nicer.

"Jamie!" A girl squealed running over to him. "Hey, baby!" She planted her lips on his. Stella moved away as she began walking away. That wasn't her scene. She never hung on Johnny like that…well not in the group anyways. She wondered what he was up to? She had talked to him once since she moved. She talked to Maggie everyday on the other hand. She sighed as she picked a table and sat down. "Hi." A red head walked up to her with two cups in her hand. "I'm Hannah. Jamie told me about you coming into town. I was wondering when he was going to bring you around."

"Stella. And that's my fault. I haven't really wanted to leave the house too much."

"California, right?"

"Yeah." She looked down at the red solo cup. "Is that for me?"

"Yes, it's just juice. They don't really like for us to drink around here. Underage and all." Stella began to laugh. "So how do you like it here so far?"

"It's different. I finally caught up with the time zones so I can sleep better at night. We lived near the beach but it didn't smell like this. I can smell the salt everywhere I go. The sun is hotter. I mean…it's sticky all the time."

"That doesn't really go away. But you get used to it."

"Hey!" A boy with red hair sat down next to Hannah. "Who is this?"

"Stella, this is my twin brother, Harry."

"Harrison." He smirked holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Stella." Stella grabbed his hand and shook as she began to giggle. She was only there for a week and was already beginning to make friends. She looked up at the entrance of the pier where Jamison was still standing with his arm around the girl that kissed him, but instead his eyes were on her. He stared at her even when she caught him. She gave a little smile to him wondering what was going through his head at the moment. She turned her attention back to the twins who were discussing their psychic powers as Stella began to laugh again. This could be okay. This could work.


	11. Its Been Three Years

Stella stepped off of the plane into the sunlight as she shielded her eyes. She quickly pulled down the sunglasses that were on top of her head and began walking into the airport. It was silent. Almost too silent. She sighed as she looked behind her at the two people who exited the plane with her. It had been three years since she lived in California. It had just been two since her dad passed away. The time to heal was taking longer than she expected but she also didn't expect to be back in the place she once loved. She was nineteen and still living in Florida with a group she now called family. We'll get to that though. She moved through the opened doors and walked right into the empty airport. He stood taller than the rest. His shoulders were broader as the tight shirt clung to his body. His head was completely bald with not a hint of hair to be seen. She pushed the sunglasses back on top of her head and walked straight into his arms. "Dom." She whispered squeezing her eyes closed. She felt his grip tighten around her body as she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding in. "It's good to see you, Stel." He released her as she moved from person to person hugging them. "Mia." She threw her arms around her sisters neck and smiled. "Stel, you looked so different from the last time I saw you." Mia laughed. She was right. Stella did look different. She was blonde now. She had had a meltdown two weeks after her dad passed away which caused her to cut her own hair. It didn't go over very well. She was taken to her hair stylist who decided to give her a change. Stella didn't care but it turned out great. It was short and it was different. It didn't remind her every day she looked exactly like Tony Toretto. She needed that. She needed for him to disappear for just a moment. She wasn't here when it happened. She had decided to stay in Florida because her Uncle let her do what she wanted. She wasn't bound to the house. She could live her life. She chose freedom over coming home to her family. But she remembered it like it was yesterday. She remembered right down to the smells that filled the garage that night. It was late. The sun had just gone down in California but the sun had been down for hours in Florida. The breeze was cool so she left the doors open…

 _The breeze blew through the garage as Stella leaned down on the floor and began spreading the decal. She had to be careful. It had to look even. She pursed her lips together and blew up trying to get her hair out of her face. It was two am and she always found herself there. There was always something to work on. It wasn't like she was bored, she just enjoyed designing the decals for the cars. It was like California there. It was family central during the day but at night…the cars came out. Everything you could imagine showed up. The testosterone levels went up and every girl that had a pair of tits and a nice ass came to visit. She was part of the crew down there that held the races. What can she say? It was in her blood. She heard the phone in the office go off as she looked up. Who would be calling at this hour? She ignored it as she brushed her hair back again. She had to finish this up. The car had been sitting in the garage for two days now. She pressed down harder on the end of the decal before standing up to look at her work. She had to admit, she was damn good. The phone began to ring again as she turned towards the office again. She sighed as she walked over and grabbing the phone. "Yes?" She spat into the phone. "Mia?" She was shocked. It was eleven o'clock where she was._

 _"Mia, are you okay?" Stella looked out into the garage as Jamison walked in. There was too much noise is the background for Stella to understand anything. She held her finger up to Jamison. He was waiting on her. He didn't like her working so late in the night especially in that neighborhood. She sighed as she hung up the phone knowing she wasn't going to be able to talk to her sister. "You ready to go? He walked into the office. "It's getting super late."_

 _"Yeah, let me just wait…" She looked back down at the phone. "Have you ever felt like something bad is happening but you don't know what it is?"_

 _"Stel…" The phone rang again. She looked up at him as her hands shook. "Just answer it." She reached for the phone again and put it to her ear._

 _"Hello?" Her voice broke. "Dom? What's going on?" She listened to him as his voice was hard. Almost as if he was trying to hold it together. She listened as he explained what happened. They were at the track. It was the last race of the season. Tony and Kenny Lendor were racing when Lendor clipped Tony of the side, sending him spinning out….she couldn't hear anymore. She couldn't recall what was said after that. The phone fell from her hands as she covered her mouth with her hands._

She hadn't heard the words yet. She couldn't even say them, not even two years later. Jamison had grabbed the phone and talked to Dom as she remained on the ground with her hands covering her head. Tony had hit the wall as the car was engulfed into flames. He died instantly. Stella could still remember the screams that escaped her mouth as Jamison put her in his arms. She wasn't there. She didn't want to be there. She looked behind her a Jamison held tightly to their bags. Harry was behind him. "Where are we going?" Stella asked.

"Home." Dom smiled softly. "Is anyone else coming with you?"

"I have two more people who plan on coming next week. We thought about looking for a house together. I mean…there are just so many people living in that one house, I just…"

"I understand." Dom replied patting on the shoulder. "Would you mind riding with me though? I just want us to be together for the ride." She nodded her head looking back at the two boys. "You'll follow us?"

"Of course." Harry replied with a smirk. She nodded her head as she looked over at Jamison who had his back to her. She took a deep breath in. They all picked up their lives. They moved back to California. She hadn't asked them to. They volunteered. She secretly wanted it to happen but how do you ask people to move across the United States to come live with you because you miss your family? She sighed as she climbed into the front seat of Dom's red, Mazda RX. She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked over at Dom. "You look good." She replied. "When did you get out?"

"Two week ago." He sighed. "I know you are angry with me. It just happened. I saw him and I just...I don't even remember doing what I did until I lifted my hand and his face was covered in blood."

"I was angry at everything, Dom. I was..." She shook her head. "I wasn't here. I didn't want to be here. I was alone..." Tears filled up her eyes. "

"I was selfish. I was pissed off that I had to come live in Florida with Uncle Sal. Then…I fell in love with it. It was so different. It wasn't over crowded, I mean…it was but it…it wasn't the same. I loved my job. I loved just being able to do what I wanted because Sal didn't care. As long as I was safe, he didn't care what I did. Then…I was seventeen, Dom. What was I supposed to do?"

"You need to talk about it."

"I don't want to talk about it."

 _The plane ride back to California was a blur as Stella straightened herself up in the seat. She sighed as she looked out the window at the beautiful, August morning. She hadn't been home in a year and she felt like she was walking into an unknown place, she had never been. She grabbed her bags from the overhead compartment and moved forward. Everyone decided to come to California that day. She didn't want to be there. Especially for what was waiting for her at home. It had been three days since she found about her father. Sal bought her a ticket home. Jamison volunteered to go but she didn't want to bother anyone. She wanted to be alone. She took a deep breath in as she looked around the airport. She hadn't told them she was coming. The reunion wasn't going to be joyful. She didn't want to hug anyone. She didn't want to look at anyone. She wanted crawl into his bed and never wake up until someone told her it was just a horrible nightmare. She moved through the crowd to the sliding doors and stepped outside. It was different. She hurried over to the yellow cabs that were waiting on people to hop in. She knocked on the window as the man pointed to the backseat. She pushed her bag in first before climbing in herself. "1327 N. East Kensington Road. Los Angeles." She closed the door and took in a deep breath. She watched as familiar sightings caught her eye as she looked at them as if she was a stranger. The car ride wasn't long enough as she came upon the familiar rode and like that she was in front of the house. She sat there for a moment as her breath quickened. She reached for the money from her purse and handed it to the man. Tears immediately began to fall down her face as she grabbed her bag and climbed out of the cab. The house looked the same. The grass looked as if it were dying but that could have just been her mind playing tricks on her. "Stella?" A boy who had to be the same age as her was standing next to his white Jetta with a rag in his hand. "Stella?_

 _"Yes." She replied. "Jesse right?" He nodded his head. "Are they up there?"_

 _"Yes." He moved forward. "We weren't expecting you to be here so soon. They are still…"_

 _"Stella!" Dom was standing on the porch with his hands in his pockets as he hurried down the stairs picking her up into his arms. She held her breath as he held her tightly in his arms. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't feel anything. She didn't want to feel anything at that moment. "What are you doing here? Sal just called to see if you arrived."_

 _"I don't know." She replied softly as her feet finally touched the sidewalk. She shook her head. "I just felt like I should be here."_

 _"I'm so glad you are." Her put his arm around her as she looked back at Jesse. "Come inside. I'm sure everyone is ready to see you."_

 _"Dom…" She pulled away. "I just need a minute, okay. I don't…I know you guys want to see me and I want to see you, but this is a lot. I'm not…I'm not okay." She put her hand over her mouth. "He was just here." The tears swelled in her eyes as she bowed her head. "I need to go." She hurried down the sidewalk leaving Dom, her bags, and Jesse just standing there. She didn't bother running away. There were only so many places she could go but she had to get away. The feeling was just too overwhelming. It hurt too bad. The pain was unbearable. Her pops was gone. He left her. But she left him first._

Dom grabbed her hand in his. "I'm here now." She replied. "I'm here and I want to stay here. But I had a different life in Florida. I wish I could take back everything that has happened but I can't. I wish I could bring him back but I can't. I would change it in a heartbeat." She wiped her face. "I'm so sorry, Dom. I'm so sorry that I didn't come back. I am sorry that I just…I was mad at him. I wanted him to feel some kind of pain that he sent me away…and now I can't even say I'm sorry to him. I can't even…" She tried to catch her breath but it wouldn't stop. This was the second time she had broken down. It was easier being away. She could keep herself busy. She could make herself stop thinking about it because she had didn't have the reminders. But here. With him and Mia. It was hard. It was heartbreaking. She was selfish. "I'm so sorry, Dom. I'm so sorry." The sobs escaped her mouth as the car came to a stop in front of the house. Dom quickly got out of the car and swung her door open grabbing her in his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she clung tightly to his neck letting the cries escape her mouth not caring who was around to see.

 _She stopped walking knowing that no one had followed her. The cool breeze blew in the air as she looked up at the old diner she used to work at. It was closed, obviously but she found herself walking up to the door and trying to door handle. "Hey." She quickly turned around as Johnny approached her slowly with his arms stretched out to her. She gave a soft smile as she walked over to him wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm so sorry, Stel." She shook her head as she finally pulled away. "I tried calling at your Uncles but he said you had already left. Then I tried your house…I didn't know where you would go. This was the first place I tried."_

 _"How are you, Johnny? The last time we talked you were talking about getting into the business with your dad. Is that still happening?" Johnny shook his head. "What do you do now, then?"_

 _"I decided to open up my own garage in Little Saigon. It does well."_

 _"Were you there that night?" Johnny shook his head again. "I honestly don't know what to do or think…I just keep replaying the phone call over and over in my head and it just…" His hand was her shoulder as she stopped. "I'm still so angry, Johnny. I am angry that I even left in the first place. I should have fought harder. I should have kicked and screamed." The tears fell down her face. "I wouldn't even talk to them for two weeks after I arrived down there. I didn't want to. Why? Why did I do that?"_

 _"You were angry."_

 _"I should have gotten over it. I should have talked to him and told him every day that I loved him and that he was doing the best he could. And now it's too late."_

 _"It isn't too late. You can still tell him. You can tell him every day because he hasn't left you. He is still here. He is everywhere you want him to be. In this diner, in your garage, even in Florida, you can take him with you. Just because he died, Stel, doesn't mean that you can't carry him around with you." She bowed her head. "Let me take you home. I know your family is worried about you."_

 _"I just want to sit here with him for a little bit longer." She replied softly. "I'll go home in a few."_

She sighed as she threw the pillow on to her old bed before walking over to the closet and cutting on the light. Her room was empty besides the old bed, the table, and her desk. But she could still see how she had it all set up. She heard the bed creak as she quickly turned around. "Hey, baby." His smile was soft as she reached up for the light and cut it back off. "Come to bed." She walked over to the bed and slowly climbed in under the sheets. She felt his warm hands come across her body. "Thank you for picking up your life for me." She replied softly.

"You know I would do anything for you, right?"

"I do. And that's why I love you, Harry."

 **AN: Let me know what you guys think! Do you like the flashbacks? There will be a lot more of them for sure. REVIEW!**


	12. I Don't Know What Is Expected of Me

_Stella looked up at the ceiling at the phone in the living room began to ring and ring. She sighed as she threw her legs over knowing no one was going to get it but her. She had been in Florida for two weeks now. She hadn't spoken to anyone from her family back in California. Her hands shook as she reached for the phone. "Hello." Her voice was low as she put the receiver to her ear. She took a deep breath in as she sat down in the recliner. "Hi, Dom." She listened as he began talking to her about being worried for two weeks because they couldn't talk to her. She bit the inside of her lip as she didn't respond. She didn't want to talk to him then but she knew it was time. She had been gone long enough to begin to get over what happened. She had talked to Maggie every day. Johnny called about four times as well. She was sent there because of him. But yet she found herself longing for him even more being so far away. "I'm fine. Finally got the time change under control…Sal isn't here right now. It's just me." She bit the inside of her lip again. "I know, he's told me…Dom…" She sighed rubbing her hand through her hair. "Because I didn't want to. I would go to pick up the phone and I would just get angry. You have to see it from my side. I am across the United States right now. I was shipped here. How am I supposed to get over that?" She rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to her later. I don't want to right now." She heard the side door open as Jamison walked in with wood in his hands. "I love you too. Tell them I am fine. I've met some people already. I will be okay, Dom. I will call you later." She waited before hanging up the phone._

 _"_ _I was wondering when you were going to talk to them. There has be over fifteen messages on the answering machine for you." Jamison set down the wood._

 _"_ _You can delete them." She replied getting off the chair and walking back to her room. Jamison followed as she looked behind her rolling her eyes. "Where is Sal?"_

 _"_ _The garage." Jamison looked around. "You going to do anything in here? It's look bare."_

 _"_ _No." She looked around with him. "It doesn't feel like home just yet." He nodded his head. "What are you doing here?"_

 _"_ _I told Sal I would bring the wood by. I was headed to the pier if you wanted to join me." She nodded her head. "I'm leaving now, so are you going to do something with yourself?"_

 _Stella glared as he chuckled before nodding his head to leave. "I think I look perfectly fine."_

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah."_

* * *

Stella looked up as the garage door came sliding up. She had already been there for about three hours when everyone started trickling in. She gave a soft smile as Vince was the first to walk through. "Hey." He replied in confusion. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Dom hired us." She pointed to the two boys behind her. They both stood up wiping their hands on the towel. "You do know that is already nine in the morning in Orlando right?"

"Right." Vince shook his head. "I have some paper work I need to catch up on. You want to come into the office with me?" It was like she even had a choice as she nodded her head. She looked back to the two boys. Jamison began working again as Harrison continued to stare at her. They were protective. That was for sure. _Him_ especially. Jamison had let up ever since they started dating but he was just as bad when she first lived down there. She gave a small smile before walking into the office where Vince closed the door behind him. "What is this?" She asked sitting down in the chair.

"When we asked you to come home, I didn't think you would be bringing your clan." Vince pressed the power button on the computer.

"My clan? Are you serious?" Vince sighed. "My _clan_ are what kept me sane in Orlando. They were there for me during my darkest times. Why wouldn't they come with me?" Vince was silent. "I came back here because Sal died. I came back here because I listened to Dom's voice of reason why it would be better. I wasn't going to leave them and they weren't going to let me go without them. That's what a family is, Vince. If you have a problem with them being here, please by all means say something."

"I'm sorry about Sal, I really am." She shook her head. "And I am glad that you came back. You have changed though."

"What did you expect?"

She stared sternly at Vince who leaned forward onto the desk. "I had to change, Vince. My father died. And then the man that took care of me for three years decides to have another heart attack, and he died too. Who else do you want me to be?"

There was silence. Sal was gone. She had gone to the pier with Jamison and Harrison one night and when she came, she could sense it. Jamison could as well. He stopped her from going inside as he ran in. It was the only time she had ever heard him raise his or scream for that matter. She could still hear it. It would haunt her for the rest of her life.

* * *

 _Laughter filled up the three friends lungs as the climbed the mound of sand that stood between them and her house. She was getting her smile back and she had these two boys to thank for that. It was tough not being in California with her family. Her father had only been good for a year but she felt like it was yesterday. She held Harrison's hand in hers as the soft breeze blew through her hair. The summer was coming to an end. She could tell because the tourist were dying down. She looked up at the house as it lit up in the background but the sliding glass door was standing wide open. "Jami…"_

 _"Stay here." She couldn't even get his name out. He was running down the hill towards the house. Stella looked over at Harrison who nodded his head and tightened his grip on her hand. "STELLA!" She heard the screams as clear as day. She took off running praying her feet didn't fail her. "STELLA!" He screamed again. Stella came stumbling into the house to see Jamison kneeling over Sal's body pumping his hands into his chest. Tears flowed down the boy's face as he pressed harder and harder. "Call 911!" Stella couldn't move as her knees gave out on her as they hit the hard wood floor. Harrison was already on the phone as Stella stared at her uncles lifeless body._

 _The ambulance had come and gone taking Sal with them. Harrison had gotten Stella off the floor and brought her over to the couch as the EMT's began to work. Jamison had taken off outside not being able to be in the room anymore. Stella's body shook as she looked up at Harrison. "We need to go." He replied softly. "I'm sure Sal is going to want you to be there with him."_

 _"Jamie…" She leaned up and looked around. He wasn't around. She quickly got up from the couch and walked outside. "Jam…"_

 _"We need to go." He pushed past her and into the kitchen grabbing the first pair of keys he could find. "We can't leave him alone."_

 _"Jamison…" Stella bowed her head._

* * *

"Stella." Vince's voice sounded around her as she knocked herself from her thoughts. "Are you alright?" She nodded her head. "Listen, I am happy you are here. I am happy you are staying. So much has changed around her and you coming back I feel like would bring us all back together. Your brother was so happy to know that you said yes."

"We needed a change too." She replied softly. "I know that this is different, Vince. But we are all here together. I don't see why it would be a problem. You never could accept others onto the team. _We_ aren't on any team. They are here with _me._ They are here _for_ me."

"Okay." He whispered. "I've missed you, that's all. If I could back in time and changed what happened, I would. I would have never let you leave."

"We can't change the past, V. I wish we could so bad." Tears filled up her eyes. "We have to accept everything that has happened and move forward from it. I am here now. I don't plan on going anywhere. We can't go back but we can start over." She wiped the tears that escaped. "I've missed you too." Vince stood up from the chair wrapping his arms around her neck and kissing her softly on the side of the head. "It's so weird being back here." She chuckled. The sound of engines startled her as she looked out into the garage. "I guess its time to get to work." She replied with a smile. She patted his side letting him know she was alright before walking back out into the garage. Jamison stood up looking at her. "You guys good to go?"

"Yeah." Both Jamison and Harrison replied at the same time. She nodded her head as she moved back over to the car she was working on. She bent down letting her mind go back to the night Sal had died. She bit the inside of her mouth as she remembered that night. I said they had just left the pier, but what you don't know is that they had their very first race there that night. She was driving. And then Sal died.

* * *

 _The night was just getting started as Harrison wrapped his arms around Stella's waist, kissing her neck. The crowd was so hyped as the music blared across the entire pier. She smiled over at Harrison who was talking with his sister. "You ready to do this?" Jamison appeared next to her. "You talk a lot of shit, let's see you put it to work."_

 _"Right now?" She was surprised. She was talking shit. She was talking a lot of shit. She didn't know how to race. She just watched Dom and Vince do it. Her dad was dead because of racing. She looked around as everyone gathered._

 _"So what do you say, Toretto, you down?" Jamison shouted with a smirk on his face. He was such a douchebag. Stella nodded her head as she looked over at Harrison again who have moved towards her with a crowd. The crowd cheered as Harrison reached for her._

 _"I'm riding with you." She could feel Harrison's lips on her ear. She nodded her head again. Was she stupid? Her hands shook as Harrison grabbed her hand in his and they moved towards the entrance of the pier. This was stupid. This was stupid. This was so stupid. She climbed into the driver seat on the Jetta. It was just sixty seconds. That's all she had to do. Jamison wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She knew that. She took a deep breath in as Harrison grabbed her hand. "You got this. I know you do."_

 _"I'm scared to death."_

 _"This is stupid, that's all I am going to say, but you can do this. I know you can." She nodded her head at him as she started the car up and but her seatbelt on. This was it. No turning back now._

* * *

 _It was blur. She didn't even remember that she crossed the finish line. Jamison had won obviously but not by much. She kept with him the entire way. He beat her by just seconds and it felt good knowing that she did that. She raced. "I totally had you!" She laughed as Jamison wrapped his arms around her. Her heart was still beating so fast and he began to laugh. "Yeah, yeah." He replied slapping hands with Harrison. "You did good, though. I am very surprised."_

 _"Come on, let's go tell Sal!" She grabbed Harrison's hand and hurried down the sand onto the beach. It was the fastest way back to the house. Then it happened. The worst day. We arrived at the hospital just minutes after Sal did. It was hard. It was the hardest thing to have to endure. Harrison held onto her the entire time as the doctor explained that he his heart was just to weak to start back up. He died on the way to the hospital. Stella had collapsed on the floor as Jamison stormed away. It was the worst day. It was almost worst than her father dying. She was here. She was present for it. How long had he been on the floor? How long had he been suffering before they found him? Harrison held onto her as the screams escaped her mouth in the middle of the hospital. The pain radiated through her entire body as she clung to the lifeless body of her uncle. How could this happen? She felt Harrison's hands tighten around her body as they pulled the white sheet over his face. They needed to take his body but she wouldn't let them until Harrison pulled her away. He grip was tight around her body as she sobbed her body wanting to crumble to the floor. "It's okay. It's okay."_

 _"Harrison!" Hannah came running into the ER wrapping her arms around both of them. "What happened? I just got a phone call that their was an ambulance at Sal's house."_

 _"Sal's gone." Harrison whispered. "We need to go. Stella, we need to go find Jamison."_

 _"Where is he?" Hannah asked looking around._

 _"He took off. I don't know where he's gone but I know he is really upset." Harrison pulled away from Stella. "Look at me. We have to go find him." Stella nodded her head as she wiped her face of the fallen tears. This was unbearable. And it didn't seem to want to go away._

* * *

 _Stella knew exactly where Jamison would go. His car was gone. He was going racing. His mind wasn't in the right place right now. Sal was like a father to him and now he had no one. Stella shook as she sat in the front seat of Harrison's Honda with Hannah sitting in the back. The two girls were holding hands as Harrison looked all over town for Jamison. He was good at hiding. If he didn't want to be found, it was usually the case. He would show a couple of days later acting as if everything was fine. But not this time. It was different. Sal was gone and Jamison was going to go off the deep end. She was becoming impatient looking for him. Where was he? Was he safe? "THERE!" Hannah shouted releasing Stella's hand. Stella shot up and looked out the window. It was Jamison's car. Who was he racing?_

 _"That's Emilio. We need to stop them!" Harrison replied whipping the car to the right sending the girls flying against the windows. "JAMISON!" Harrison shouted. Stella threw open the door and went running towards Harrison's who was revving his engine._

 _"JAMIE!" Stella shouted. She finally reached the car jerking on the door handle. "Get out!"_

 _"Go away!" Jamison yelled. "Just let me do this!"_

 _"No!" Stella reached for the door handle again. "You can't do this! I'm not letting you!"_

 _"Get out!" Harrison shouted._

 _"Jamison, please!" Hannah begged. Amelia reached into the car jerking the keys from the ignition and throwing them behind her._

 _"FUCK!" Jamison slammed his hand on the steering wheel._

 _"Get out!" Stella shouted banging her hand on the top of the car. "GET OUT!"_

 _"Man, you guys are crazy!" Emilio replied. "I'm not dealing with this shit. Let's go!" With that he climbed back into his car leaving the four friends alone. Jamison slowly opened the door to the car and climbed out._

"Are you crazy?" Stella asked getting into his face. "Emilio is known for putting people into walls, Jamison."

"So?" Jamison walked away. Stella could see the pain on his face.

 _"I know you are angry and sad." She slowly walked over to him and putting her hand on his arm. "And it's okay. But I can't lose you too." Tears filled up her eyes. "I wouldn't be able to handle that." He immediately jerked her into his arms as the tears flowed down her face. She could feel his entire shaking as the sobs escaped his mouth. He was in pain. It radiated through him._

* * *

The garage would full of people as Stella lifted her head to wipe the sweat away. "Hey!" Mia came walking over to her with a paper bag in her hands. "Hungry?" Stella nodded her head as she tossed the rag down and followed her back into the office. This seemed to be the place where everyone wanted to talk. She was tired of talking. Stella sat down in the chair that she sat with Vince and looked up at her sister. "How are things?"

"They are good. We are waiting for Hannah and Kyle to get here." She took the food out of the bag and handed Mia a sandwich. "I know its a lot of people in the house right now. We will be looking for something as soon as they get here."

"That's the last thing that I want. I don't want you to leave the house." Mia took a bite from her sandwich. "We just got you back."

"I'm not going to go far, Mia. There are going to be like ten people in that house at once. We would kill each other. We can find something just down the road from here." Mia sighed. "What's going on with you? How are things here?"

"They are good. The garage and the store are doing really well. I can't believe you are working in the garage."

"I did with Sal. It's...it's just something that I started doing to pass the time. I usually do detailing but I know you guys have Jesse for that. I was taught a lot working there. Jamison worked for him as well so he taught me a lot. How is the racing going?"

"Good, we go almost every weekend. It pays the bills." Mia laughed. "So tell me what happened with Sal?" Stella shook her head.

"I can't do that, Mia. I don't want to. It's too hard to talk about right now. Everything is really hard to talk about." Mia nodded her head. "Someday, maybe I can talk about it with you. He died and we left. So...there's nothing much to talk about." She shook her head. "I didn't come home because I was pissed off, Mia. I know you don't want to hear that but I made a life in Florida because our father sent me away there. I don't know what he expected but I know he didn't expect me to not come home. And now he's dead too." She shrugged her shoulders. "I wanted to be here but I should have never left in the first place. Yeah, I caused a lot of trouble but I would have gotten over it. It was a stage. I wanted to be rebellious but then he sent me away and then he died." Mia nodded her head. "How do you want me to get over that?"

"I don't expect you to. I don't expect you to be over any of this. I just want you to talk to me. You need to talk about it or one day you are just going to explode."

"Then let me explode." Stella put her sandwich down. "It's going to happen, Mia. What are you afraid that I am going to go off the deep end and embarrass you guys?" Mia shook her head. "I haven't been here in a year. It's been three years since I lived here. That's a lot of time to be angry. And believe me I was angry." Stella stood up. "I need to get out of here."

"Please don't leave." Mia begged.

"I'll be back. I need some air." Stella threw open the office door and stormed out.

"Hey!" Dom grabbed her by the shoulders stopping her. "Where are you going?"

"I need some air. Don't follow me, Dom." Stella moved past him wiping her face. She was hot. She could feel the sweat running down her neck as she took in a deep breath. The tensions were so high in that garage and she couldn't handle it anymore. "Stella!" Harrison shouted.

"No!" She held her hand up. "Please just let me be alone. I can't be here right now." She took off down the driveway and ran down the sidewalk to Lord only knows where. She just needed to get out of there. She couldn't be in that place anymore. There was too much happening. It was too overwhelming. What did they want from her? What did they expect from her? She just picked up her life and started over...again.

"Stella?" Stella looked up as she didn't know how far she had ran.

"Johnny." Stella whispered as she wiped her face of the fallen tears. She was almost in Little Saigon. How did she get there?

"What are you doing here, Stella?"


End file.
